Condemnation of the prohibited practice of upselling to NHS patients has followed the publication of a limited survey by the Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID) in which 23% of respondents claim they were informed about private hearing aids during appointments with high street providers.

The practice of upselling is in direct violation of NHS National Guidance that prohibits discussing or promoting private options during NHS consultations. In a statement condemning the practice, the British Academy of Audiology (BAA) called the survey percentage “disheartening”, and alleges it aligns with anecdotal evidence it has received.

“Although the full extent of this unethical behaviour remains unclear, BAA highlights the lack of mechanisms to detect and prevent it,” reads the statement. And the Academy advises against expanding private provision of NHS services – proposals for which are currently under discussion at NHS management and government levels – without safeguards being established.

 

Small sample of patients surveyed

 

Questions must arise, however, about the soundness of conclusions drawn from a significantly small survey: only 77 people who accessed NHS services in a high street practice; 450 in hospitals; 17 people being told about private hearing aids. Hundreds of thousands of hearing aids are fitted to NHS patients every year.

The survey report offers no contextual information on the cases, and even acknowledges that “it is important to note that the sample size is limited, particularly when comparing data across different providers, which impacts the generalisability of the results.” The RNID recognises the need for further studies.

The small survey sample is commented on by the Association for Primary Care Audiology Providers (NCHA), which underlines that High Street practitioners are well aware of their responsibility to keep within NHS National Guidelines. Harjit Sandhu, CEO of the NCHA responded on his association’s website:

” If NHS patients are advised to buy private hearing aids from an NHS hospital or NHS high street provider, they should report this to the provider organisation so it can be acted on, as it should not be happening.”

The research note – Investigating Variation in NHS Hearing Ais Services – is by no means restricted to potential upselling, containing information also on self-referral, respondents (16%) referred by GPs not being given a choice of provider for hearing care; implementation of national quality standards; hearing aid tech being limited by a postcode lottery; and other issues of importance in hearing care.

Sources: RNID/BAA/NCHA