Two grateful mums have thanked screeners from all over Ireland, who perform the free hearing screening tests on newborn babies at 19 maternity hospitals, at a special event in Dublin recently.
The mothers praised the benefits of the Health Services Executive (HSE)’s Universal Newborn Hearing Screening (UNHS) service and the role of the Northgate Screening Team, with one mother recounting how her young son’s life had been changed through the early diagnosis of childhood deafness and access to early intervention services.
Pictured screeners from all over Ireland responsible for checking newborn babies for hearing loss.
The screeners all attended a special reception in Dublin, hosted by Northgate Public Services, who provide UNHS in all maternity hospitals in Ireland from November 2013, on behalf of the Health Service Executive.
Mother of three, Lorraine Murphy (41) from Westmeath told how her daughter Anna, now 5, was not diagnosed with a profound hearing loss in both ears until 17 months of age, as the UNHS did not exist when she was born. This led to a delay in providing her with a cochlear implant, required to give her access to sound.
Lorraine and other parents have set up a support group in Ireland, Our New Ears, for parents of deaf children with cochlear implants in Ireland, which currently has over 160 members.
“I wish that the newborn hearing screening had been up and running when Anna was born and I can see the benefits of such an early diagnosis in children’s development,” she said. “While parents don’t want to hear bad news about their new babies, if they are diagnosed early with a hearing problem, it is in fact good news as it gives parents a chance to open the right doors to communication and possibly technology straight away, allowing their child to progress in the normal way. Anna lived in a different world for the first 17 months until we discovered what was wrong. Now other parents need not go through all that - they have the newborn screening service.”
Lorraine was part of the recent Happy New Ear campaign seeking bilateral cochlear implants for children in Ireland, in line with international best practice. From 24 July this year, children in Ireland have the benefit of two implants per child, funded by the HSE.
Rachel Fellowes from Cork, whose son Benjamin, 2, had the benefit of being diagnosed at birth through the Newborn Screening Service, added: “This has been such an advantage for Ben. He can say 80 words now, which is similar to his brother Joel (3), at that age. I am so grateful to have had the chance to have him diagnosed early, so that he has not lost out on his learning and development.”
Northgate’s Executive Director Joe Bradley said: “I was delighted to have this opportunity to thank all the screeners for their stalwart work with so many babies and to meet some of the mums who have benefitted. This is an invaluable service which is helping the HSE with early detection and also bringing long-term benefits to children and their families in Ireland by providing this free, early detection service to newborns.
Pictured from left, Joe Bradley, Northgate’s Executive Director, with Rachel Fellowes, Lorraine Murphy and Gary Norman.
“With around 6,000 babies screened each month, we are identifying 180 on average who need referral to the HSE Audiology Service and many parents have expressed their gratitude that an early diagnosis has been available. We look forward to continuing to work with the HSE in developing this and other services for the citizens of Ireland.”
Dr. Gary Norman, National Clinical Lead for Audiology said: “It is wonderful to see the benefits of early diagnosis. It is clear that the earlier a hearing loss can be picked up in a baby, combined with timely access to early intervention services, the better outcome that baby will have in terms of developing speech and language skills, as well as developing social and emotional interactions from an early age.”
So far, there have been 164 babies in Ireland diagnosed with a Permanent Childhood Hearing Impairment since the screening started.
Approximately 75,000 babies a year in Ireland are now undergoing hearing screening at all maternity units.
Recently the screening programme celebrated screening its 100,000th baby for hearing impairments
Northgate currently provides solutions and services to over 50% of hospitals in Ireland, a number of leading local authorities and central government departments.
Northgate offers a range of screening services besides the hearing screening, including Newborn Blood Spot Screening and Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Screening, which all have the health and wellbeing of the public at heart.
In Ireland, one to two babies in every 1,000 are born with a hearing loss in one or both ears. On average 6,000 babies are screened each month; of these 180 babies (3%) are referred to the HSE Audiology Service for further hearing diagnostic assessments; and approximately 9 babies are identified with a permanent childhood hearing loss. Universal newborn hearing screening seeks to identify all babies born with a congenital, unilateral or bilateral, moderate to profound Permanent Childhood Hearing Impairment (PCHI) before the baby is three months old. Approximately 3 per cent of babies are referred from the screening programme to the HSE Audiology Service for more intensive assessment and are normally seen within four weeks of being referred.
About Northgate Public Services
Northgate Public Services plays a unique role in the delivery of efficient and effective public services. We have built an understanding of, and been committed to, the complex, changing and often challenging business of delivering services in local and central government, safety and healthcare. We help public service providers reduce costs and deliver people-critical services. The strength of these foundations is The Northgate Advantage, a combination of deep public sector expertise and insight, our advanced technology platforms and applications, and a portfolio of flexible service delivery options. Our commitment to understand our customers’ needs and the needs of their customer, the citizen, is what allows us to deliver business-critical capabilities which positively impact upon the lives of millions of people.
