Integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning services to meet the health needs of their local population, which includes responsibility for ensuring that there is adequate provision of British Sign Language (BSL) interpreters to support deaf patients.

To facilitate clear and effective communication in emergency situations, individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, or speech impaired can utilise tools such as the 999BSL video relay platform, which is both app and web-based, to contact 999 via a BSL interpreter as well as access via emergency SMS messaging.

Video relay apps can also be used to support communication and face-to-face assessment by crews on scene at incidents, where, via on-board iPads, paramedics can connect patients with a remote BSL video interpreter. These resources, which are free to use and operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, ensure that real-time communication is possible for BSL users when emergency and urgent assistance is required.

The BSL Advisory Board was established in 2023, to advise the Government on key issues impacting the Deaf community in their everyday life. On 27 November 2025, the BSL Advisory Board published a report titled Locked out: Exclusion of deaf and deafblind BSL users from health and social care in the UK, which is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/bsl-user-experience-of-health-and-social-care-in-uk/locked-out-exclusion-of-deaf-and-deafblind-bsl-users-from-health-and-social-care-in-the-uk-full-report-bsl-and-english-versions

The Government welcomed the report, and thanked the BSL Advisory Board for their work to improve the accessibility, inclusion, and the experiences of Deaf and Deafblind BSL users within the health and social care system. The board’s recommendations are informing work to implement the 10-Year Health Plan and reform adult social care so we can deliver improvements to the health, care, and experience of Deaf people.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body that produces evidence-based guidance for the health and care system. NICE develops its recommendations with clinical and technical experts, drawing on a thorough assessment of the available evidence and engagement with patients, professionals, and other stakeholders. NICE recommended cochlear implants for children and adults with severe to profound deafness. Full details are set out in NICE’s guidance at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ta566

NICE guidelines set out best practice, taking account both clinical effectiveness and value for money. National Health Service organisations are expected to take this guidance fully into account when planning and providing services for their local populations.

The Department does not hold data on the number of children and adults who were fitted with unilateral and bilateral cochlear implants in each of the last eight years.

Integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning services to meet the reasonable requirements of their local populations. This includes determining the most appropriate model of care for cochlear implants, taking account of clinical safety, access, quality, value for money, and the availability of alternative pathways. The Health and Care Act 2022 provides that each integrated care board may arrange for the provision of services or facilities as it considers appropriate for the purposes of the health service.

The Department does not hold data on the number of children and adults who were fitted with unilateral and bilateral cochlear implants in each of the last eight years.

Integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning services to meet the reasonable requirements of their local populations. This includes determining the most appropriate model of care for cochlear implants, taking account of clinical safety, access, quality, value for money, and the availability of alternative pathways. The Health and Care Act 2022 provides that each integrated care board may arrange for the provision of services or facilities as it considers appropriate for the purposes of the health service.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

The Department does not hold data on the number of people aged under or over 18 years old who have received cochlear implants in the last three years. However, the Hospital Episode Statistics provide a count of finished consultant episodes where there was any procedure of “cochlear implant”. The following table shows the count of finished consultant episodes where there was any procedure of “cochlear implant” for 2022/23, 2023/24, and 2024/25, broken down by age group:

This data reflects the number of procedures, as individuals may have multiple admissions for the same procedure within a given period.

The Department does not hold data on the number of people aged under or over 18 years old who have received cochlear implants in the last three years. However, the Hospital Episode Statistics provide a count of finished consultant episodes where there was any procedure of “cochlear implant”. The following table shows the count of finished consultant episodes where there was any procedure of “cochlear implant” for 2022/23, 2023/24, and 2024/25, broken down by age group:

This data reflects the number of procedures, as individuals may have multiple admissions for the same procedure within a given period.

The Department does not hold data on the number of people aged under or over 18 years old who have received cochlear implants in the last three years. However, the Hospital Episode Statistics provide a count of finished consultant episodes where there was any procedure of “cochlear implant”. The following table shows the count of finished consultant episodes where there was any procedure of “cochlear implant” for 2022/23, 2023/24, and 2024/25, broken down by age group:

This data reflects the number of procedures, as individuals may have multiple admissions for the same procedure within a given period.

NHS England commissions cochlear implants for patients who fulfil the criteria as described in the recently published he National Institute for Health and Care Excellence report ‘Cochlear implants for children and adults with severe to profound deafness: Technology appraisal guidance’ published on 7 March 2019 at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ta566

There are a number of cochlear implant devices currently available. Specific advice about which of the devices currently available meet an individual patients requirements would be provided by a patient’s local specialist cochlear implant centre.

The information requested is not collected centrally. This is because Hospital Episode Statistics are a count of episodes and not people. We are able to provide a count of finished admission episodes (FAEs) with a primary or secondary procedure or intervention for cochlear implants between 2014/15 and 2016/17. These are activity in English National Health Service hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector.

A count of FAEs with a primary or secondary procedure or intervention for cochlear implants in each of the years between 2014/15 and 2016/17 is shown in the following table:

A FAE is the first period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. FAEs are counted against the year or month in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the period.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recently received a significant amount of information regarding its published technology appraisal guidance on cochlear implants and as a result it needs to conduct a more in-depth consideration which has resulted in a delay. NICE is in the process of analysing the evidence and aims to go out to consultation on a Review Proposal in early 2018. The Review decision will be published after the consultation.

The Office of Communications (OFCOM) is managing the release of the 2.35 to 2.39 GHz spectrum bands. OFCOM has carried out careful tests of listening devices and sought evidence from across the deaf community to ensure these devices will not be affected by future mobile signals.

Information concerning the number of patients who waited more than six weeks for an initial NHS hearing assessment and a follow-up NHS hearing aid assessment in each of the last five years is not available. Audiology is not one of the key referral to treatment functions which are recorded as a data set.

In the following table, we have provided a count of finished consultant episodes (FCEs) with a primary or secondary operative procedure of 'operation on cochlea' by five year age brackets for the years 2013-14, and provisional data for April to November 2014-15.

It should be noted that FCEs are not the number of patients because one patient may have had more than one episode of care within the time period.

Source: Hospital Episodes Statistics (HES) Health and Social Care Information Centre.

Notes:

1. A finished consultant episode (FCE) is a continuous period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. FCEs are counted against the year in which they end. Figures do not represent the number of different patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the same stay in hospital or in different stays in the same year.

2. HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. Changes to the figures over time need to be interpreted in the context of improvements in data quality and coverage (particularly in earlier years), improvements in coverage of independent sector activity (particularly from 2006-07) and changes in NHS practice. For example, apparent reductions in activity may be due to a number of procedures which may now be undertaken in outpatient settings and so no longer include in admitted patient HES data. Conversely, apparent increases in activity may be due to improved recording of diagnosis or procedure information. HES figures includes activity ending in the year in question and run from April to March, e.g. 2012-13 includes activity ending between 1 April 2012 and 31 March 2013.

3. The data for 2014-15 is provisional and may be incomplete or contain errors for which no adjustments have yet been made. Counts produced from provisional data are likely to be lower than those generated for the same period in the final dataset. This shortfall will be most pronounced in the final month of the latest period, ie November from the (month 9) April to November extract. It is also probable that clinical data are not complete, which may in particular affect the last two months of any given period. There may also be errors due to coding inconsistencies that have not yet been investigated and corrected.

In the following table, we have provided information concerning the number of cochlear operative procedures by five year age bands, for the years 2008-09 to 2012-13:

Please note that this is not the number of patients because one patient may have had more than one episode of care within the time period.

The Department has made no assessment of the number of adults in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire and the East Midlands who might benefit from a cochlear implant.