The SA government has committed to an independent external review of its cochlear implant program which saw at least 30 children living with incorrectly programmed implants for the past five years, significantly impacting their listening and verbal language development.
Therapists have warned some parents that the impact might be so great that their children may never catch up with their classmates.
SA Health Minister Chris Picton said that the Women’s and Children’s Hospital (WHC) were contacting program participants from the past five years, and the external review would identify when the issue started as well as how it was able to occur.
Opposition Leader David Speirs told ABC News that the bungle was ‘heartbreaking’ and a ‘scandal,’ and suggested all resources should be put towards accelerating the independent review and offering compensation to the families affected.
“It’s crucial children who are born deaf or hard of hearing have early and appropriate intervention, as untreated hearing loss can have profound effects on a child’s ability to develop speech, language, and social skills,” Mr Speirs said.
“The families do deserve compensation… I suspect that [compensation] would reach into the millions.”
Mr Picton was reported as saying that ‘everything will be on the table’ during the external review.
“When issues arise, we have to work out what’s happened and we have to work out how we can prevent that from happening in the future,” he said.
“Certainly, if there were systemic management issues as part of this, that led to this problem over many years, then that will absolutely be a subject that this external review will be able to look at.”
Opposition health spokesperson Ms Ashton Hurn said there was ‘absolutely no time to waste.’
“I have been inundated with families who have only heard about this after brave people have come forward to share their experiences,” she said.
According to ABC News, another parent also wrote to Mr Picton in October last year, describing how time was wasted when health workers couldn’t get to the bottom of why their six-year-old wasn’t making progress.
“I guess the impact for our son is clear in a way. He can’t get those missed years of hearing back,” the parent said in their letter.
“This delay will have social, educational, employment and, perhaps, mental health issues for him for years to come.”
Adelaide’s WCH has been conducting an internal investigation of the matter since early 2022 and while it still did not yet know the cause of the issues, the hospital indicated that it would participate fully in the external review.
SA Audiologist Nicole Eglinton told ABC News she was ‘relieved and pleased’ after calling for an independent investigation 12 months ago. She had notified the hospital and health regulators of problems with their cochlear implant programming after noticing the same issue in nine of her patients.
“The review should focus on the hearing healthcare pathway from diagnosis and ensure safeguards are in place at every stage for children with cochlear implants,” she said.
“In my view, this is a clear example of why no single organisation should provide a service and why choice should be offered. In my experience as an audiologist with over 20 years’ experience, audiology should be a registered profession, it shouldn’t be self-regulated.