Grumpy Old Deafies

It appears that the Hearing Aid Council is being abolished next year, and its work merged with the Health Professions Council.

The Hearing Aid Council describes itself as:

We are the Government body that regulates the private hearing aid market. To sell a hearing aid in the UK you must be registered with us and meet our standards of education, training and conduct. You can complain to us if you are worried someone may not meet our standards or is selling hearing aids illegally.

With the HPC describing itself as:

We are a regulator, and we were set up to protect the public. To do this, we keep a register of health professionals who meet our standards for their training, professional skills, behaviour and health. We currently register over 180,000 professionals from 13 professions.

We only know all this, because it has appeared in Hansard.

Ben Bradshaw (Minister of State, Department of Health; Exeter, Labour)

[snip]

I accept that it is not ideal that this House did not have the opportunity to consider this provision in its deliberations in Committee. I hope, however, that hon. Members will forgive the fact that this is a late addition to the Bill in recognition of the very real benefits that this measure will bring for patients and consumers. First, this will provide improved protection for the hearing impaired and simplify the regulatory framework for hearing aid dispensers. Although the council has done a fantastic job over the past 40 years, it is operating under legislation that is increasingly outdated with gaps in consumer protection. The Health Professions Council, established in 2001, has modern and comprehensive legislation that will provide for a much more complete service to patients and consumers. As a multi-professional statutory regulator, it can provide greater resources while charging considerably smaller fees to the profession. Secondly, and importantly, the Hearing Aid Council itself, the Health Professions Council, the Royal National Institute for Deaf People and the British Society of Hearing Aid Audiologists are all fully supportive of this move, and are working together to ensure that the transition will be as smooth as possible.

[snip]

A question. Did anyone actually bother to ask deaf people, since they are the ultimate consumers (and who's interests are supposedly been protected)? Has a single deaf person been involved in this consultation, and more to the point do they even know its happening, nevermind the pros and cons? Biggest deaf organisation bullshit being involved doesn't automatically wash at GOD, no-one pulls the wool over our eyes here. Personally, private hearing aid dispensing doesn't interest me, however structures / power does.

The proposed idea might even be a good idea, but are deaf people even in a position to even judge that? If there is a move away from specialist services, will there be enough recognition of getting deaf people involved in the profession? I'm talking role model argument here ....

Ask the Readers:
What do you think (that's if you even care)? Did you even know this was happening?

Source:
Hansard
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