SA Paediatric Cochlear Implant Program Review
Two reviews of the South Australian Paediatric Cochlear Implant Program at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital were commissioned after a number of children had potential issues with implant mapping.
Children with the potential issue were able to hear through the implant, however it is possible they may not have been hearing at the optimal level for their specific condition.
Independent Governance Review
The Department for Health and Wellbeing (DHW) commissioned an external review (PDF 1.1MB) to understand the issues that caused the under mapping to occur, to identify measures to strengthen the current systems and processes within the cochlear implant program, and to make sure it does not happen again in the future.
The Report was released on 21 August 2023, which included 59 recommendations.
All recommendations have been accepted and will be implemented.
Independent clinical review
The Independent Clinical Review for the Paediatric Cochlear Implant Program – Summary (PDF 222KB) coordinated by NextSense was released on 21 June 2024.
The NextSense clinical review summary has outlined seven recommendations to further strengthen the Women’s and Children’s Health Network service. The recommendations are accepted in full and are consistent with the recommendations of the governance review.
The NextSense full Technical Report (PDF 1.8MB), from which the summary was drawn, is intended to support WCHN to improve service delivery of the Paediatric Cochlear Implant Program. It is written to an audience with technical skills in aspects of Cochlear Implant management. Names have been redacted where required and this report is not designed for individuals to draw conclusions from regarding their own circumstance.
Payments
Patients who were part of the program between 01/01/2006 – 21/08/2023, will be eligible for a payment.
Children and families may have experienced undue expenses, as well as significant stress and inconvenience due to the possibility they have had issues with their implant mapping. This payment is in recognition of the impact on these families.
Children who have been identified as having mapping issues, or who were initially identified as of concern by WCHN, will receive $50,000, which does not replace a family’s right to pursue further compensation.
Families whose children have not been under-mapped will be entitled to $5,000.
Please complete the Payment Application Form.
Contact details
If you have any questions about the external review, email Health.DHWClinicalGovernanceEnquiries@sa.gov.au
If you have questions about the Cochlear Implant Program, email Health.WCHNCochlearImplantProgramReferrals@sa.gov.au