Newborn hearing program exceeds target

The WA Newborn Hearing Screening Program has recently exceeded the 95 per cent screening target for babies across the State.

Ninety-seven per cent of babies born in public metropolitan hospitals and 96 per cent born in country hospitals were screened in late 2010 bringing the figures in line with national standards being developed as advised by the Australian Health Ministers' Advisory Council.

Health Minister Kim Hames said the State Government's expansion of the service from five to 29 public maternity hospitals had seen a dramatic improvement in screening rates.

The program, run by the Child and Adolescent Health Service with support from the WA Country Health Service in rural and remote areas, is now rolled out State-wide.

More than 139,000 newborn babies have been screened through the program to determine whether they have any hearing abnormalities so they can be identified and managed as soon as possible.

A non-invasive device, which delivers a soft clicking sound through ear-phones and picks up the baby's response through sensors on their skin, is used to screen newborn babies from 12-hours-old.

 "Hearing loss can be a debilitating disability so identifying and managing these babies early significantly improves their chances of meeting positive language and speech outcomes," Dr Hames said.

"In Western Australia, one in 1,000 babies tested have some type of hearing impairment.  By managing issues early with support such as sign language, hearing aids or cochlear implants, we can help these children to reach their full potential in speech, language and cognitive ability."

World leaders in newborn hearing screening will gather in Fremantle this weekend for the 6th Australasian Newborn Hearing Screening Conference.

The conference, held at the Esplanade Hotel, will include keynote speeches from experts from WA, Australia and around the globe and will serve as a platform to discuss the latest diagnostic equipment and techniques, cochlear implantation and how to address challenges in rural and remote regions.

Notes

The hospitals where the Newborn Hearing Screening Program runs are:

·        Esperance

·        Kalgoorlie-Boulder

·        Albany

·        Katanning

·        Broome

·        Derby

·        Kununurra

·        Carnarvon

·        Geraldton

·        Nickol Bay

·        Port Hedland

·        Bridgetown

·        Bunbury

·        Busselton

·        Collie

·        Margaret River

·        Manjimup

·        Narrogin

·        Northam

·        Kaleeya

·        Swan

·        Armadale

·        Rockingham

·        Bentley

·        Osborne Park

·        King Edward Memorial Hospital

·        Joondalup Health Campus

·        Peel Health Campus