Written question asked by Nick Harvey (Liberal Democrat) on Thursday, 5 April 2001, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 23 April 2001. It was answered by Lord Hutton of Furness (Labour) on Monday, 23 April 2001 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Dept of Health

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that audiology departments are implementing the NICE guidance on hearing aids.

Answer: Mr. Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to ensure that audiology departments are implementing the NICE guidance on hearing aids. [157949] Mr. Hutton: All National Health Service bodies and clinicians are expected to give due weight to guidance from the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) and to the evidence on which it is based. Initial monitoring of the implementation of NICE's guidance will take place through the established Quarterly Monitoring Review, supplemented through other data sources available to the Department. We will be looking to the Commission for Health Improvement to provide some authoritative information in due course.

Secondary information