Patients no longer have to wait weeks for tailor-made hearing aids to be produced, as clever thinking between the audiology and dental departments means they can now have them fitted the same day, saving both time and money.

In an idea developed by service managers Mark Brindle, from audiology, and Keith Powell, from the dental laboratory, hearing aids can now be made on site using dental acrylic moulding equipment used to make orthodontic models.

The team's intelligent use of resources beat off stiff competition to take the Health Enterprise East Innovation Award for Service Delivery.

Mr Brindle and Mr Powell attended a special awards dinner and collected the trophy from BBC Look East presenter Stewart White – along with a £3,500 winner's cheque to go towards service improvement.

"We're absolutely delighted," said Mr Powell, who also gave credit for the award to the QEH Trust's chairman Sheila Childerhouse. "She heard about what we were doing and insisted we entered the awards. Now we're glad we did – we're on cloud nine."

Previously, many of Mr Brindle's patients had to wait weeks after the initial mould of their ear was taken while a plastic earpiece was made in a laboratory elsewhere.

They would then have to return to hospital for fitting and adjustments, an altogether tedious and time-consuming process.

But now, after about 18 months of development and testing, the QEH effectively offers a one-stop hearing aid clinic, with the ear pieces being made in just over a hour while the patient continues to be assessed.

Mr Brindle said around 70 per cent of his patients are now able to walk away with their hearing aid the very same day.

"The idea came from a suggestion made to us some time ago, that if you can go to an optician and get your glasses within an hour, why can't you do the same for a hearing aid?

Our dental colleagues can mould these fittings for us between their normal use of the equipment. Our patients benefit by only having one hospital visit, so we save time and money."

Source: http://www.lynnnews.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=991&ArticleID=1492630