Ear Wax Removal - FOI Response Register

FoI Number
2024-325
Subject
Ear Wax Removal
Date Received
24/09/2024
Request and Response
  1. Does the Health Board currently provide an ear wax removal service or services within primary care or community ear care services, available to all patients registered with GP practices within the Health Board’s boundary, as per HIS/NICE guidance?

YES

  1. How many of the Health and Social Care Partnerships (HSCPs) within the Health Board currently provide ear care services, and how are these delivered in each case – by CTAC, and/or other means?

There is only 1 HSCP in Shetland. All GP practices within the HSCP delivers ear care services. The service is delivered by our General Practice Nursing service.

  1. If ear care is delivered as one of the core CTAC services for HSCPs at the health board, is there an activity target for this, if so what is it, and is it being achieved?

N/A

  1. What form of ear wax removal do the Health Board’s HSCP CTAC services offer (where they exist) – micro suction, ear irrigation, or other?

Ear Irrigation

  1. If a wax removal service delivered in primary or community care is not currently available to all the Health Board’s patients, is there a plan to set up such services in the future, or to review the need for these services?  If no, why not?

N/A

  1. How many patients are seen each week in acute/specialist ENT clinics who require wax removal? 

NHS Shetland uses the OPCS4 coding system. Figures provided are for the number of outpatient appointments where OPCS4 Codes D07.1 or D07.2 were recorded.

The average for 2024 as of 29/09/2024 (last Sunday of a completed week) was 4.1 people a week.

  1. Does the Health Board have a policy/ guidance on ear wax removal and/or referral pathways for its providers for patients for whom the benefit of ear wax removal is clinically indicated?  If the health board has issued such guidance, please provide a copy.

We have no current policy but adhere to the recommendations from NICE guidelines.

  1. Can you provide a copy of any guidance the Health Board provides to patients and/or clinicians on the self-management of symptomatic ear wax?

These are 2 patient information sites used by our staff

Earwax build-up | NHS inform

Earwax | Causes, Treatment and Build-up Prevention (patient.info)

  1. How many complaints has the health board received from patients about difficulty in accessing or inability to access a wax removal service in the last 24 months?

Nil