Urgent audit
Anxious families waiting for answers over children’s cochlear implant review
TOWNSVILLE University Hospital appears to have acted quickly and decisively in standing down two staff members as part of an internal review into juvenile cochlear implants issues.
As part of a full audit of 341 audiological test results conducted on babies, the families of eight children from 91 reviews completed so far are being contacted for urgent follow up.
It is obviously a concerning time for those family members already contacted, but also worrying days ahead for the parents of children yet to have their individual cases reviewed.
Townsville Hospital and Health Service health service chief executive Kieran Keyes said yesterday the audit was launched due to concerns some services might not have been up to clinical standard.
“We don’t know yet the full extent of the effects of our concerns here,” he said.
“Hearing is such an important part of any child’s development, and that’s why we’re concerned about getting this right.
“To any of the families involved, I appreciate that this will cause distress and concern, and I apologise unreservedly.”
It comes after issues arose in South Australia where about 30 children’s cochlear implants had not been mapped correctly, leading to fears of irreversible damage.
The hospital plans to bring on more staff to help review the cases with Children’s Health Queensland.
Cochlear implants, invented in Australia and first fitted to a patient in 1978, have provided remarkable hearing results for tens of thousands of Australians young and old.
Their succes in providing the gift of hearing to people around the world will continue for many years ahead.
As Mr Keyes says, the review was launched by the hospital due to concerns some services may not have been up to clinical standard.
The review of the cases must be allowed to continue and follow-up treatement where required to proceed uninterrupted to ensure the care of young patients is handled with the utmost urgency and accuracy.