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Tinnitus referral pathways within the National Health Service in England: a survey of their perceived effectiveness among audiology staff

Gander, Phillip E.; Hoare, Derek J.; Collins, Luke C.; Smith, Sandra; Hall, Deborah A.

Tinnitus referral pathways within the National Health Service in England: a survey of their perceived effectiveness among audiology staff Thumbnail


Authors

Phillip E. Gander

DEREK HOARE derek.hoare@nottingham.ac.uk
Associate Professor in Hearing Sciences

Luke C. Collins

Deborah A. Hall



Abstract

Background: In the UK, audiology services deliver the majority of tinnitus patient care, but not all patients experience the same level of service. In 2009, the Department of Health released a Good Practice Guide to inform commissioners about key aspects of a quality tinnitus service in order to promote equity of tinnitus patient care in UK primary care, audiology, and in specialist multi-disciplinary centres. The purpose of the present research was to evaluate utilisation and opinions on pathways for the referral of tinnitus patients to and from English Audiology Departments.
Methods: We surveyed all audiology staff engaged in providing tinnitus services across England. A 36-item questionnaire was mailed to 351 clinicians in all 163 National Health Service (NHS) Trusts identified as having a tinnitus service. 138 clinicians responded. The results presented here describe experiences and opinions of the current patient pathways to and from the audiology tinnitus service.
Results: The most common referral pathway was from general practice to a hospital-based Ear, Nose & Throat department and from there to a hospital-based audiology department (64%). Respondents considered the NHS tinnitus referral process to be generally effective (67%), but expressed needs for improving GP referral and patients’ access to services. ‘Open access’ to the audiology clinic was rarely an option for patients (9%), nor was the opportunity to access specialist counselling provided by clinical psychology (35%). To decrease the number of inappropriate referrals, 40% of respondents called for greater awareness by referrers about the audiology tinnitus service.
Conclusions: Respondents in the present survey were generally satisfied with the tinnitus referral system. However, they highlighted some potential targets for service improvement including 1] faster and more appropriate referral from GPs, to be achieved through education on tinnitus referral criteria, 2] improved access to psychological services through audiologist training, and 3] ongoing support from tinnitus support groups, national charities, or open access to the tinnitus clinic for existing patients.

Citation

Gander, P. E., Hoare, D. J., Collins, L. C., Smith, S., & Hall, D. A. (2011). Tinnitus referral pathways within the National Health Service in England: a survey of their perceived effectiveness among audiology staff. BMC Health Services Research, 11(162), https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6963-11-162

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jul 6, 2011
Publication Date Jul 6, 2011
Deposit Date Oct 12, 2016
Publicly Available Date Oct 12, 2016
Journal BMC Health Services Research
Electronic ISSN 1472-6963
Publisher Springer Verlag
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 11
Issue 162
DOI https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6963-11-162
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/707796
Publisher URL http://bmchealthservres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1472-6963-11-162

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