Children’s Hearing Screening Unit – Halton, St Helens & Knowsley

The Department of Audiological Medicine for Halton, St Helens and Knowsley.

The Hearing Screening Unit offers a Newborn Hearing Screen to all babies with either GP in our area or who are born at Whiston Hospital.

We aim to complete the screen within 4 weeks of birth and complete the screen before discharge for every baby born at Whiston Hospital.

School Nurses provide a School Hearing Screening Service to school children in Halton and St Helens.

Any baby failing the screen will be referred on to Audiology for further tests. Any child in Knowsley and Vale Royal who fails this screen will also be to us for further tests.


Who can access the service?

All babies born at Whiston Hospital or at other hospitals, with a GP in our area and school entry aged children attending a Knowsley school or Vale Royal school (West Cheshire).


How can people access the service?

Every baby born at Whiston Hospital is offered the screen by a trained Screener.

We screen at the bedside on the Women’s Ward, Delivery Suite, and Special Care Baby Unit and occasionally on the Children’s Ward.

We can also arrange Out Patient appointments on the Women’s Ward.

Incomplete screens & home births are seen in Local Community Clinics, babies born at other hospitals with a GP in our area are transferred to us for an Outpatient appointment.

We offer School Hearing Screening to Knowsley & Vale Royal (West Cheshire) Schools and issue an Opt-Out Consent form.

Halton School Hearing Screening is offered by Halton School Nursing.

St Helens School Hearing Screening is offered by St Helens School Nursing.


Where is the service offered?

Our clinical base is on The Maternity Unit at Whiston Hospital for the Newborn Hearing Screen.

Community Clinics are also held for those that were not possible to screen at the hospital for any reason or for those of whom the screen was incomplete.

These clinics are held at various locations across the coverage area closer to homes. We carry out clinics at:

  • Lowe House, St Helens
  • Nutgrove Villa, Huyton
  • Whiston Primary Care Resource Centre, Whiston
  • Tower Hill, Kirkby
  • Woodview Child Development Centre, Widnes
  • Hallwood Health Centre, Runcorn

We value what you say

We routinely ask for feedback from you to see how we are doing.

This may be a request for verbal feedback, or we will ask you to complete an anonymous feedback form.

Families are also requested to complete Talk to Us Forms at various stages of involvement:

This information will be treated confidentially, and may be used by the team in order to improve our service.


Contact details

The Hearing Screening Unit
Ward 2E
Level 2 – Purple Zone
Whiston Hospital
Warrington Road
Prescot
Merseyside
L35 5DR

Telephone: 0151 290 2021
Fax: 0151 290 2024

Email: STHCCG.thehearingscreenunit@nhs.net


St Helens Local Offer website

St Helens SEND

St Helens Special Education Needs and Disabilties (SEND) website.


Related websites

www.hearing.screening.nhs.uk

www.screening.nhs.uk/uknsc