British doctor's daughter denied two cochlear implants

From The Telegraph in the UK:

Dr. Christine Wheatley's 11-month-old daughter Ellie has been denied full treatment because she is not blind as well as deaf.

Hampshire Primary Care Trust (PCT) has agreed to pay £33,000 for one cochlear implant but not an extra £18,000 for the second.

Dr. Wheatley and husband Ed said the decision would leave Ellie at risk on roads and struggling at school.

Hampshire PCT said it made its decision after studying guidance from the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (Nice), which issues funding recommendations.

Nice currently only recommends 'bilateral' cochlear implants for deaf people under limited circumstances, such as where someone is also blind.

But some primary care trusts do fund bilateral implants for those who are simply profoundly deaf, said Dr. Wheatley, 35, from Winchester, Hants.

She said: "We find it very frustrating knowing others families in identical situations have had their bilateral operations.

"Ellie has undergone nine months of assessments and the clinicians at the Cochlear Implant Centre in Southampton support bilateral implants for her.

"I believe the PCT only considered the extra cost of a second implant, not how much less her education will cost if she has both ears operated on now.

"We believe that morally Ellie should have the operation on the NHS.

"Looking after Ellie is a joy and a pleasure but battling to get what she needs has been the worst part of the last nine months.

"As a doctor I did not realise the problems for parents of children with special needs. This is a classic case of postcode lottery care."

Cochlear implants work by stimulating inner ear nerves with electrical signals that the brain interprets as sounds, even enabling a person to understand words in a quiet environment.

Doctors at the Cochlear Implant Centre have agreed to appeal on Dr. Wheatley's behalf, but she said she was not hopeful.

Mark Oaten, the Liberal Democrat MP for Winchester, said: "The second implant should really happen for Ellie as it will make a massive difference to her and her family."

A spokesman for Hampshire PCT said: "The current recommendations from NICE support unilateral implants for children and adults with severe to profound deafness; however, under these guidelines, bilateral cochlear implantation is restricted to certain conditions, including children and adults who are blind.

"We will study the updated NICE guidance when it comes out next month and will review our current position as new evidence becomes available."