NHS Leeds CCGS Partnership: ENT and Adult Hearing Loss AQP

Tender description

There have been successful community consultant-led ENT services in Leeds for the past six years, and hearing aid provision and aftercare being delivered at a wide range of locations for the past three years. In line with the city’s aspirations to continue to reduce attendances in secondary care sites where it is clinically appropriate and cost effective to do so, we wish to continue to provide services in these treatment settings, which provide more convenient access for patients. The principle aim of the service is to provide local consultant-led community ENT services for the diagnosis, management and treatment of ENT problems, which complement and work in partnership with existing primary, community and secondary care ENT. ENT The community ENT service will deliver a range of services traditionally delivered in a secondary care setting for patients aged 5 years and above. This will include the provision of audiometry in support of medical consultation. The provider will ensure audiology services will be in place to support all ENT clinic sessions into which patients with ear or hearing problems are booked. The service is not commissioned to deliver those services which form part of the essential and additional primary care services, such as basic aural hygiene. The services provided will include consultation, diagnosis and treatment planning, together with onward referral if the indicated treatment can only be undertaken in a Secondary Care setting. Hearing Loss The main components of the hearing loss service are: hearing assessment and aid fitting (where required), follow-up and aftercare services for adults with suspected or diagnosed hearing loss. This will be for routine patients only. Audiology services for children under 17 or for complex patients who have one or more of the exclusion criteria (below) are not covered by this specification and should continue to be referred or redirected to the appropriate service at a local NHS Trust.