A new outpatient service for children’s hearing has opened at Horton General Hospital in Banbury, bringing specialist audiology care closer to families.
NHS England provided funding for the project, with additional support from Oxford Hospitals Charity.
The total cost exceeded £300,000, and the department was officially opened on October 26 by Antony, a 12-year-old patient from Bicester.
The purpose-built unit contains an acoustic testing room fitted with advanced equipment for assessing children’s hearing.
It is intended to provide a broader range of paediatric hearing evaluations without requiring families to travel to Oxford for treatment.
Sir Andrew Morris, chairman of Oxford University Hospitals, said the new unit demonstrated the NHS Long Term Plan’s aim of providing high-quality care in convenient locations.
He said the service would benefit children and families by reducing the distance involved in accessing specialist support.
Rachel Humphriss, a clinical scientist and the head of audiology at OUH, said the department offered a better environment for young patients in Banbury and surrounding areas.
She explained that families could attend appointments near home while retaining access to specialist technology and facilities.
For children from north Oxfordshire, the department offers an alternative to specialist audiology appointments at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.
Local access is also expected to ease demand on the paediatric hearing service based at the John Radcliffe.
Antony took part in the official opening by cutting a ribbon at the new department.
He was found to be profoundly deaf after a detailed assessment identified significant hearing loss.
The assessment followed his failure at newborn screening.
He received cochlear implants when he was eight months old, and the implants transformed his ability to hear.
Antony’s mother, Mary, said the new service would benefit families across north Oxfordshire and Banbury by bringing appointments closer to home.
She praised the audiology team as incredibly supportive, adding that its detailed advice and encouragement had helped the family during a difficult period.
She also said the purpose-built environment would make the work of staff members easier.
Jamie French, interim programme manager with Oxford Hospitals Charity, said the improvements would enhance the accuracy of hearing-loss testing and ongoing monitoring.
He added that the redesigned facilities would help make hospital visits more engaging and interactive for children.