NEC secures contract to screen babies to check for hearing loss in Ireland

PRESS RELEASE

01/12/2024: NEC has won the contract to provide the National Universal Newborn Hearing Screening Programme (UNHSP) in Ireland for another four years. NEC has screened nearly 700,000 babies since the programme started in 2011, which is part of the HSE National Children’s Screening Service. It helps to identify children with hearing loss so they can be supported from their first steps of life.

One to two babies per 1000 are born in the country with hearing loss.  Late identification can affect language and communication skills, creating longer term risks for social and educational achievement.

Before the start of Ireland’s hearing screening programme, children as old as five were presenting with hearing loss that wasn’t diagnosed at birth.  Now over 50,000 babies are screened each year.

Since the start of the programme in 2011, over 1100 babies have been identified with a permanent childhood hearing loss (PCHL) and started appropriate intervention by 6 months of age.

Shane McMahon, General Manager NEC Ireland, said: “The programme has transformed the lives of many children born with hearing impairments.  The combination of NEC-supported UNHSP and the HSE’s Community audiology service, means there is a highly effective and efficient national programme to ensure timely diagnosis and optimal management of early hearing loss in infants.”

NEC runs two national healthcare contracts for the HSE and looks after more than 240,000 patients annually.

Notes to editor:

• The Health Service Executive (HSE) provides all Ireland’s public health services in hospitals and communities across the country
• NEC provides the screening programme to the Health Service Executive (HSE)
• NEC’s screening teams liaise directly with their local / regional paediatric units, public health nurses and audiology departments to ensure all babies are offered a screening and it is followed up in a timely manner

ENDS