Summary
A local watchdog's visit to two receptions, a ward and a diagnostic unit at Royal Cornwall Hospital, reporting on newly placed personal hearing sets and a reception loop that worked poorly.
Key findings
- The loop-system bullet on PDF pages 1-2 identifies Treliske's main reception as Trelawney and compares it with outpatients reception. It attributes testing to Healthwatch Cornwall without naming the individual loop tester. The introduction names Jamie Hanlon as a volunteer who raised access concerns; it does not explicitly identify Hanlon as that tester. The heading dates the report 9 April 2015, without a separate visit date.
- The hospital had placed 50 new personal hearing sets around the hospital so that hard of hearing patients without hearing aids could talk with health professionals, friends and family. Healthwatch suggested adding a loop option for hearing aid users, more staff awareness, a map of where the sets are kept, and "consideration of cross contamination and infection control" of the sets.
- Testing the recently updated loop at the main reception, Healthwatch found it working "but not as well as it should be": with a clip-on lapel microphone, the sound reaching the hearing aid was poor, and with the background noise the loop "almost becomes useless". The outpatients department had a similar issue.
- The outpatients loop sign was hidden behind a box, and staff at the two reception desks visited were not suitably trained to use the loop. Healthwatch asked for the lapel microphone to be clipped to the receptionist, or a different microphone, for bigger and more prominent signs, and for training for all staff behind any reception desk.
- Reported other barriers: patients unsure and anxious about being called in the waiting area, a ward buzzer entry system whose reply they could not hear, an unstaffed MRI reception where patients had to telephone the unit, and staff commands such as "breathe in" during MRI or CT scans that patients could not hear. It suggested name displays, a phone with loop capability and a coloured light system.
- Notes that 14 link staff around the hospital had been trained by Hearing Loss Cornwall to carry out maintenance on hearing aids.
Limits
A short account of one visit to two receptions, one ward and one diagnostic facility; loop quality was judged by listening, not measured, and the report does not name the type of personal hearing set. It is dated 9 April 2015, and the hospital's arrangements may have changed since.
Read the original
Cited in
- What works in hospitals, clinics and pharmacies, where a misheard word can matter most?Partly answered
Cite this source
Healthwatch Cornwall. Report on the Changes and Current Issues at Royal Cornwall Hospital around Patients with Hearing Loss. Healthwatch Cornwall CIC (reports library of Healthwatch England). 9 April 2015. https://nds.healthwatch.co.uk/sites/default/files/reports_library/Healthwatch%20Cornwall%20-%20Hearing-Loss-Report-RCHT-V3.pdf (accessed 13 October 2026).
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