Western Australia Minister for Health Kim Hames

Hearing Screening Extended To All Newborns

Victor P Taffa

• All babies born in WA to receive free hearing screening
• Extension of program encompasses babies born at private hospitals

The State Government recently announced that Western Australia’s Newborn Hearing Screening Program would be expanded to include babies born at private hospitals.

Currently, there are 29 hospitals across Western Australia that carry out the newborn screening and the inclusion of private hospitals will mean more babies born in WA will be given the opportunity to be tested.

Health Minister Kim Hames said $1 Million in funding would be provided, re-enforcing the Government’s commitment to child health.

“We have a record number of babies being born in Western Australia, so it is imperative that we acknowledge the importance of early intervention and this funding will allow us to do that.” Dr. Hames said.

“This program was unprecedented when it began and it has had excellent results in identifying children with possible Permanent Congenital Hearing Loss (PCHL). This has allowed those children to receive earlier treatment which has led to better language development and social outcomes.”

More than 136,000 newborn babies have been screened through the program to determine whether they have any hearing abnormalities. In WA, four in 1,000 babies tested have some type of hearing impairment.

The program, run by the Child and Adolescent Health Service, with support from the WA Country Health Service, began in Perth’s five biggest maternity hospitals and has since grown based on the success of early identification.

Without newborn hearing screening, 75 % of children with permanent hearing loss would remain undiagnosed by their first birthday.

Fact File

• Newborn hearing screening services have operated in metropolitan hospitals since 2000
• In 2010, the program was extended to country areas