Evidence submitted by Paul Piper (AUDIO
3)
My view, for what it's worth is:
There is no point in treating an audiology patient
the same as an x-ray or an MRI scan. In the latter case, you turn
up, have the scan and go home. An audiology patient is not just
for one hour, they are for the rest of their life.
This must be taken into account when farming
out large numbers of patients to ATOS Origin et al. Who looks
after these patients in the long term? Who have the skills to
treat complicated cases? NHS audiologists do.
Think about the long term not just the short
term, papering-over-the-cracks reactive approach. If you devoted
the same amount of money that has been ploughed into PPP and this
new approach to the private sector, we just might get somewhere
with our waiting lists.
But then again, what do I know? I've only been
working in audiology for 18 years.
Paul Piper
Adult Rehabilitation Lead, Audiology, Bournemouth
and Poole Primary Care Trust
[comments made as an individual]
19 January 2007
|