New hearing equipment a game-changer for hearing impaired people in rural WC

People with hearing impairment across rural areas of the Western Cape will soon have improved access to state-of-the-art audiology equipment and hearing aids, thanks to a project funded by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in collaboration with the Western Cape Department of Health. 

On Friday 21 October, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will kick off a project worth approximately R1,8-million. The budget will be spent on hearing aid repair toolboxes, hearing screening equipment, audiometers, middle ear analyzers and hearing aids that will be placed in rural clinics and hospitals across the province.

This project will fill a dire need in small rural clinics and hospitals which have outdated equipment and lack spare parts. This means that patients are often required to travel to major centres for testing and are thereby burdened by additional transport costs. This donation will supplement and support the audiology services in the province through allowing additional testing with the new equipment and supporting audiologists in providing services closer to people’s homes.

“The provision of services to persons with disabilities remains a priority of the department, and we look forward to working on this donation project in the rural districts. We are confident that this donation will assist our rural audiologists in conducting comprehensive hearing assessments for clients, screening for infants and children, and providing the appropriate, quality hearing aids that they need,” said Dr Keith Cloete, Head of Department, Western Cape Department of Health.

“We are overjoyed and grateful for this donation. It will strengthen diagnostics, testing and repairs when it comes to audiological services, ultimately improving access to these comprehensive services for persons with hearing impairments. Providing healthcare requires a number of role-players to partner. Partnerships and donations like this have a major impact in especially rural areas where vast distances create barriers to accessing services. We greatly value partnerships like the one with the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints,” said Dr Lizette Phillips, Chief Director of Rural Health Services, Western Cape Department of Health.

Sandile Makasi, director of communication for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Southern Africa said that the church was excited to participate in the project.