| News & Events news Waiting list relief for Scottish patients Waiting times to see a specialist about hearing problems have been slashed in the Lothians after hundreds of thousands of pounds were spent on new testing rooms . Deaf and hard of hearing patients now wait an average of around seven months to see an audiologist and have a hearing aid fitted - down from more than 18 months two years ago . Waiting times are set to fall even further with the appointment of a further six audiologists at the Ear , Nose and Throat ( ENT ) department at Lauriston Place . But the latest figures still fall three weeks short of the Scottish Executive 's target of 26 weeks , which came into force in March this year . Nanette Milne , health spokeswoman for the Scottish Tories , said : " It is very good news for people in Edinburgh and the Lothians that waiting times have already been reduced and that new audiologists have been appointed . " I am not too concerned about Executive waiting times , as long as the needs of patients are being met and the fact that the wait has been cut by so much is fantastic . " She added : " I know waiting lists in audiology have meant people have been waiting a terribly long time to have hearing aids fitted . " The new permanent staff will replace locums who are currently carrying out the work , saving NHS Lothian £ 180,000 a year . Two have already started work , and the others are set to begin soon . Some of them will later be moved to the audiology department at St John 's Hospital , Livingston . In February , the health authority spent £ 470,000 installing four new sound-proofed rooms to measure hearing ability at Lauriston Place . An extra 240 people a week are seen by audiologists since the booths were installed - a 60 per cent rise since February . But patients are still having to wait an average of 29 weeks from being referred by their GP to having a hearing aid fitted . Mark Hamilton , manager of the ENT department at Lauriston Place , said : " These additions to the audiology department are great news for patients . We have just revised our waiting list timetables which means people will now be getting access to treatment sooner . " Over the next few months we are also expecting a big increase in the number of patients attending our department . " Hearing problems are a major disadvantage to a lot of people and our patients can rest assured that NHS Lothian is always striving to deliver high quality health services . " A Scottish Executive spokeswoman said : " We are committed to a programme of modernisation of audiology services in Scotland , and to making available digital hearing aids where there is a clinical need . All boards can now fit digital hearing aids if appropriate . " A target of 26 weeks ' waiting time from referral to fitting is being achieved by some , but not all , boards as the starting point for modernisation varied from board to board . " Around £ 17 million has been made available to NHS boards over 2003-07 to modernise audiology services . I had just had enough so I decided to go privately Long waiting lists have forced some patients to have hearing aids fitted privately . Frank Cochrane , 73 , of Trinity , waited to see an NHS Lothian audiologist for nearly two years after being referred by his GP . He said : " My hearing started to go very gradually more than three years ago . When I first went to see my GP , it had gone only a little bit , but by the time I got to the Ear , Nose and Throat , it was really quite bad . " I have had terrible problems waiting to see someone at the NHS . Once I eventually did see someone at the hospital , they told me I would face another wait to have a hearing aid fitted . I had just had enough , so I decided to go privately . " Mr Cochrane , who had one foot amputated earlier this year , contacted a private firm who came to his home to carry out tests and fit two hearing aids . He added : " When I was in hospital having my foot amputated , I dropped my hearing aid and broke it . I decided to see if there was any way I could get it repaired on the NHS , but I was told I would have to join the bottom of the list again . " Source : The Scotsman Link : http://www.scotsman.com / | top | legal | privacy | accessibility | disclaimer | © copyright Hearing Concern 2006 | | Registered charity no . 1094497 | A company limited by guarantee registered in England no . 4466960 | | W3C : AAA Compliant | W3C : Valid HTML | W3C : Valid CSS | |