Hearing and Speech Services

DESCRIPTION:

Many disabilities, including speech and hearing problems are picked up when babies and toddlers undergo routine developmental screening at primary health care clinics. If necessary, the child will be referred to a specialist clinic. At the same time the child will be referred to a rehabilitation professional e.g. occupational therapist at primary health care level (where available). Adults and children who develop problems later with speech and hearing will need to go to their primary health care clinic, where they will be assessed.

Children can be referred to a speech therapist and/or an audiologist at specialist clinics, which are available to a limited extent in the Boland/Overberg region and in the West Coast/Winelands region. An in-patient only service is available in the Cape Metropole at the Booth Memorial and Brooklyn Chest Hospitals. There are no services in the Southern Cape/Karoo.

Tygerberg, Groote Schuur and Red Cross Children's Hospital provide hearing aids.

INSTRUCTIONS:

First time visitors to the clinic/secondary or tertiary hospital will be asked to fill out a form and a folder will be opened for the patient. If you need an assistive device such as a hearing aid, you must ask for the orthopaedic aftercare sister or physiotherapist/occupational therapist at the nearest clinic or community health centre/district hospital. Bring your ID book and in the case of a child, the Road to Health Card.

PROVIDED AT:

These facility categories:

Clinics

And these facilities:

Western Cape Rehabilitation Centre

PROVIDED BY:

GOVERNMENT BODY:	Department of Health (Provincial Government of the Western Cape)
PRICE:	Services are free at primary health care level. Following Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang's announcement that a free health care policy for people with disabilities would come into operation on July 1, 2003, this service should be free. This covers outpatient visits and admissions to hospitals, and includes disability aids such as hearing aids. The free service includes people who have permanent disabilities that have resulted in moderate to severe difficulty in living a normal life.

GOVERNMENT BODY:

Department of Health (Provincial Government of the Western Cape)

PRICE:

Services are free at primary health care level. Following Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang's announcement that a free health care policy for people with disabilities would come into operation on July 1, 2003, this service should be free. This covers outpatient visits and admissions to hospitals, and includes disability aids such as hearing aids. The free service includes people who have permanent disabilities that have resulted in moderate to severe difficulty in living a normal life.

The content on this page was last updated on 26 January 2005

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