'Our local hospital's broken hearing services have failed us'

Lost confidence, developmental delays and having to give up beloved hobbies.

These are some of the issues facing adults and children who have been caught up in failings at a hospital trust's audiology services department.

A new report has revealed the extent of the ongoing situation, which has led to patients facing long waits for hearing tests, diagnosis and treatment.

They include a British Army serviceman who lost his hearing in a bomb blast and parents of young deaf children.

Audiology services at Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust were suspended a year ago, but the internal review, published last month, has laid bare issues around weak oversight, poor data management and leadership gaps.

The department was even using an IT system that only one person had access to.

Families told the BBC they had been left "in limbo" about their future care and that the service was "broken".

In a statement, the trust apologised for the long waits and said since the failings had been identified it had made significant improvements.

Concerns raised about the audiology department were not properly escalated or acted on for years despite complaints, the report to the hospital trust's board of directors said.

The internal review found that staff were unsupported, training was weak and the data measuring current waiting times was "historically inaccurate".

It said the service often did not follow normal trust processes and leadership was weak and unstable, with the head of service post vacant between 2017 and 2024.

The human cost of the poor service meant hundreds of adults and children are now experiencing long delays, with some left without hearing aids for years.

Those who have spoken to the BBC said being unable to hear properly leaves them struggling in everyday situations, avoiding social interaction and has forced them to withdraw from much-loved hobbies.

The review also revealed the extent of the harm caused to children by the delays.

According to the findings, one child suffered severe harm, 11 children experienced moderate harm and 13 sustained low-level harm.

Three-year-old Ted is one child whose development has been affected by the difficulty in obtaining suitable assessment and care.

The Doncaster toddler was born prematurely in 2022 and failed hearing tests. His mother Danni - who is deaf herself - said her son would most likely need a hearing aid and that his speech was already delayed.

Ted's last visit to the audiology department was 15 months ago, when the family was told his next appointment would be within six months.

"But every appointment since then has been cancelled," Danni said.

She wants Ted to have another hearing test so that he can be referred for speech and language therapy.

"I'm angry because I don't know what he's missing out on.

"It's having an impact on his life and him making friends."

Andrew's experience with the service was similar.

Nearly three years ago the 62-year-old moved from Leeds to Doncaster to give his deaf teenage daughter, Christine, better access to education. The South Yorkshire city has a renowned deaf school and college run by a charitable trust which can trace its history back to 1829.

However, the decision, ironically, came at the expense of Christine's care.

The 16-year-old was due for a hearing test on 28 August, but when the family arrived at Doncaster Royal Infirmary they were told the appointment had been cancelled.

"There was no apology or anything," Andrew said.

"I'm at a loss, it's just another problem that we have to deal with on a daily basis, it's shocking."

The hospital later told the family it had sent a letter to inform them of the cancellation, but Andrew said it never arrived.

He requested a copy, which he received in September.

Following the cancelled appointment, he claimed there was no communication or information from the hospital about the reasons for the delays or when Christine would be next seen.

After the BBC contacted the hospital to ask why the appointment had been cancelled, Andrew received an email on Monday confirming that Christine's hearing test had been rescheduled for later in the month.

Many families like his have not been directly informed about the issues within the service, which the internal review concluded "persisted undetected" for a long time due to "insufficient curiosity, escalation and accountability within divisional and executive governance".

As reported by the BBC in October, hospital figures showed 891 adults and 1,144 children were waiting for their first appointment with audiology services in Doncaster.

In total, 9,630 adults and 1,984 children were on the waiting list, although the hospital said a large proportion were not considered "active waiters" - for example, patients attending routine reviews.

Since the service was partially suspended, the trust said it had made significant improvements but the waiting list backlog means patients are still not seen in a timely manner.

For some, the delay has forced them to abandon hobbies they once loved.

Paul Rudkin has been a keen organ player for 50 years. However, since losing his hearing aid three years ago, he has stopped playing regularly at home.

The once-familiar tones of the instrument now sound "muddy", he said, and the indistinct sound was "off putting".

The 77-year-old was initially told he would get a replacement hearing aid within three months, but as time passed so did his confidence that the appointment would ever materialise.

He finally had his hearing test in late August and was told it would be six to eight weeks before he would get a new hearing aid.

"That was 14 weeks ago," he said.

While some patients report being seen on Saturdays to tackle the backlog, an Army officer from Doncaster said he believes such measures should have been in place years ago.

The serviceman, who does not wish to be named, lost his hearing due to a mortar attack in Afghanistan in 2006 and also suffers with severe tinnitus. He now serves as a reservist so is eligible for NHS treatment.

Despite registering with the service in 2022 and being placed on a waiting list, he has not had a single appointment yet.

When he lost his hearing aids in June, the 54-year-old contacted the hospital but was told he would have to wait.

"It is an embarrassing thing when you can't hear people and you're nodding and smiling, thinking 'I hope I nod and smile at the right time'," he said.

"You get very conscious about it and it does knock your confidence a lot."

After a four-month wait, he eventually registered with services at Pontefract Hospital, in a separate trust area, and was seen within two weeks.

He is certain that if he had stayed with Doncaster he would still be waiting.

"I'm a fan of the NHS, but I think this is quite abysmal.

"When things like this happen, it makes people lose faith in not just the hearing department but the NHS because it makes you wonder what else is happening."

Maggie Lockhart, 67, waited nearly five years for a hearing aid. The retired mental health nurse ended up going private, at a cost of £4,000.

Because of her own poor experience with the service she founded Doncaster Audiology Action Group last year, hoping to work with the trust to improve the service.

She said senior hospital leaders have listened to the group's concerns and invested heavily in facilities and staff training.

However, Ms Lockhart stressed that communication with patients remains the "primary issue".

"There are literally hundreds, if not thousands, that still have yet to be contacted and not one patient on that caseload has had a letter indicating what the problems were, [or received] the apology that is needed - and yet in the report to the DBTH board they apologised at least five times," she said.

"Now the board do need to hear that, but the most important people who need to hear this apology are the patients of the service.

"This is what the service is there for, surely - the patients."

Zara Jones, deputy chief executive at Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said: "We recognise the impact that long waits in audiology have had on patients and families, and we apologise for this.

"Since the issues were identified, we have made significant improvements to the service, including new clinical and information systems, refurbished rooms and facilities and updated equipment, which has resulted in a steady increase in activity across diagnostics, hearing aid fittings and other key areas."

Ms Jones said the trust expected to return "to more routine levels of service" from April 2026.

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