E&T Comm 10 March 2011: a problem for hearing aid dispenser graduates

At the end of the E&T committee, about 1.05pm, there was a small discussion about a problem that had arisen for new graduates of courses for hearing aid dispensers. This profession had been transferred without comment into the hands of HPC on 10 Feb 2010, and the old Hearing Aid Council (HAC) had then been dismantled.

A little glitch had led to a problem for students on courses during this takeover period. People who graduated under the HAC were eligible to apply for HPC registration, and graduates on courses which commenced after the handover date were also clearly eligible. But students who were on courses during this period were left in a black hole when administrators interpreted the handover date ('approval date') to mean that only training courses begun after the date of approval were eligible pathways for HPC registration. Hundreds of application forms had been returned to the new grads who were rejected as HPC applicants, and therefore denied the right to work.

These recent Graduates had no other option but to appeal the decision as the bureaucratic machinery was in motion. The administrator reported to the E&T committee that 'a former member of the Hearing Aid Council happened to be sitting on one of these appeal panels, and he confirmed to us that the approval date was meant to apply to all courses in action, and not just for those yet to begin.'

The administrator showed no sign of embarrassment at the botch up, and I wondered whether he thought that it wasn't the HPC's responsibility. It is also perhaps worth mentioning that the Director of Education at HPC is young woman, which is simply to say that the title 'director of education' probably doesn't mean that she 'directs' any 'education' and may even have no experience of ever having done so. I shall ask for the job spec to be sent.