Hearing care "crisis" in East Devon after abrupt NHS audiology handover

The concerns were raised in a letter from Richard Foord, Member of Parliament for Honiton and Sidmouth, to NHS Devon chief executive Steve Moore, dated Monday, June 16. Foord said he had been "inundated" with emails and phone calls from constituents unhappy with the changes.

The letter follows the withdrawal of Chime, the previous audiology provider, at the end of March. Chime, a community interest company previously based at Seaton Hospital, reportedly faced funding challenges which led to its exit from the contract.

Mr Foord warned that the successor service "appears to be poorer" and that local people were being left without information or access to care. "My constituents are frustrated by a lack of information related to the new service and confusion about how it is provided," he said.

He raised concerns over the reduced number of local service points, with many patients now having to travel into Exeter for hearing tests or repairs. In addition, he questioned whether the new providers could repair existing hearing aids, as there were reports of software incompatibility forcing replacements instead.

In his letter, Mr Foord called for clarity on several key issues, including:

• The decision-making process behind the contract funding

• Whether the new service will repair hearing aids

• Current waiting times and the size of the audiology waiting list

He also cited a report from Devon Live, which stated that as of November last year, 5,489 people were waiting for audiology services across Exeter and eastern Devon, with some facing waits of up to ten months.

Mr Foord urged NHS Devon to resolve the situation “as a matter of urgency” and ensure that patients receive proactive communication about the changes and how to access services.

More information about the ongoing changes can be found on One Devon's website. A spokesperson for NHS Devon said: 

“As of 1 April 2025 Chime Social Enterprise no longer provides the NHS Audiology Services for the eastern Devon area. NHS Devon has commissioned several new providers locally to deliver both routine and specialist audiology services for the Devon area and will ensure patients are seen by a new provider as quickly as possible. Previous customers of CHIME should have received a letter giving details of what they need to do and who the new providers are for each part of the service.”

“We apologise for any inconvenience this change in provider may have caused patients. NHS Devon is aware that the change in service provision is likely to cause some initial disruption but it will result in benefits for patients in the long term.”