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Written question asked by Andrew Mitchell (Conservative) on Friday, 25 April 2025, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 29 April 2025. It was answered by Karin Smyth (Labour) on Tuesday, 13 May 2025 on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care.

Earwax: West Midlands

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had discussions with the Birmingham and Solihull integrated care board on access to ear wax removal services in the context of their decision to commission self-referral community audiology services.

Answer

The Department has not engaged with the Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care Board (ICB) directly on this point, but it is supportive of the ICB’s work to improve access to community-based services. All ICBs have a statutory responsibility to commission cost-effective healthcare to meet the needs of their local population. This includes the arrangement of audiology services.

In line with NHS England’s work to improve access to primary care following the COVID-19 pandemic, all ICBs were asked to expand self-referral pathways for certain carefully considered community-based services by September 2023.

However, the Birmingham and Solihull ICB recommend visiting a pharmacist for blocked ears caused by ear wax rather than using the self-referral hearing check service. Ear wax removal services are not a core service included in the national GP Contract, and general practitioners often recommend home treatment remedies to alleviate ear wax build-up as manual ear syringing is no longer advised by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence due to the risks associated with it, such as trauma to their ear drum or infection.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
48088
Session
2024-26
Subjects
Medical treatments West Midlands Earwax
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk