It has been an evangelical fifteen months for Specsavers, and 2024 has seen the retail group argue, in parliamentary settings of all of the UK’s four governments, for changes in hearing care delivery.

Back in October 2023, Specsavers was at the UK House of Commons to add its voice to the launch of Listen for Life, a campaign it jointly leads along with the UK’s Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) to tackle hearing loss and the mental health challenges associated with tinnitus. Just over one year later, on November 5, 2024, many months of promoting the Specsavers-led Hearing Health Report – It’s Time to Talk About Hearing – an official launch of the report was held in the Churchill Room at the House of Commons (see video here). And events were held too in the Welsh, Scottish, and Northern Irish parliament buildings.

To round off 2024, Specsavers returned to Westminster, this time on December 11 and 12 at the Jubilee Room, Westminster Hall, for a Specsavers
Parliamentary Clinic, hosted by MPs Marsha de Cordova and Yasmin Qureshi. Dozens of MPs and peers visited the clinic over two days, says Specsavers, as clinicians carried out hearing and eye health checks using equipment such as video otoscopes to examine inner ear health.

Sonam Sehemby, Specsavers Head of Clinical Training (Audiology), commented: “It was great to see so many parliamentarians and colleagues across the two days, sharing our message and research and showcasing the importance of hearing health.”

The clinic comes at the end of a year that has seen Specsavers engage with policy makers across political parties. The debate has awoken great interest and controversy at different levels of the audiology sphere in the UK, drawing a strong response in the form of a position statement from the British Academy of Audiology, which defends NHS primary care for adult audiology services.

“Introducing a nationally commissioned primary care audiology service will address unmet need at reduced cost and take pressure off GPs and NHS hospital departments,’ argues Ms. Sehemby. “More importantly, it could deliver a step change in care and quality of life for adults with age-related hearing loss.”

Source: Specsavers