News
Newborn Hearing Screening Programme secures Northgate partnership
until 2010
20 March 2008
Northgate Information Solutions has announced the extension of its
partnership with the NHS Newborn Hearing Screening Programme (NHSP)
until 2010.
The NHSP is recognised as the most advanced hearing screening
programme in the world and Northgate currently manages its online
national information system e-Screener Plus (eSP) and performance
management system.
The contract, worth £3.2 million, will deliver a programme of
continuous improvements to the NHSP such as better integration with
screening equipment, improved data quality and sophisticated new tools
for service monitoring and supporting quality assurance.
eSP has been acknowledged as one of the most successful clinical
systems in the NHS and is used across England, handling approximately
600,000 babies per year.
 Under
the NHS Newborn Hearing Screening Programme, hearing loss and deafness
is now identified in children within the first few months of birth, with
the average time for hearing aid fitting now under five months. Prior to
this, a quarter of children with permanent hearing loss were not
identified until three and half years of age or older (photo on right:
one of the 2m screened babies)
Prof Adrian Davis OBE, for the NHS Newborn Hearing Screening
Programme, said: "A proactive approach to identifying deafness and
hearing loss can have a major effect on the development of children
throughout the country. Without early identification, babies are at
considerable risk of not developing their communications skills,
preventing them from reaching their full potential in later life.
Reinforcing our relationship with Northgate, we can ensure that the
Newborn Hearing Screening Programme continues to work effectively as an
invaluable public health service for clinicians, newborn babies and
their families."
Ian Blackhurst, Managing Director, Northgate Healthcare Services,
said, "The NHS Newborn Hearing Screening Programme has so far identified
more than 3,400 babies in England as having permanent hearing impairment
or deafness. We are committed to supporting NHSP as it is essential to
delivering early identification and support for families to maximise the
prospects of children reaching their full potential.
"Information management and quality are integral to building
effective screening programmes in the UK. Effective screening programmes
help people make better choices about their health, enabling them to
take control and responsibility for their health, thereby preventing ill
health and promoting well-being.”
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