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Annual Report and Financial Statements 2015–16
Our future plans
Taking action: our strategy 2013–18
Our national and local strategy sets out clearly how, by 2018, we’ll get closer to our vision of
a world where deafness, hearing loss and tinnitus do not limit or label people – and where
people value their hearing.
2015–16 was the third year in which we delivered this strategy. Here’s how we’ll move closer
to achieving our vision in 2016–17 – by continuing to focus on three core aims.
Support and Care
We’ll continue to fight proposed cuts in NHS hearing aid provision in
England. In 2015–16 eight health-commissioning groups announced
consultations on plans to cut their availability: we’ve persuaded each and
every one to cancel or significantly scale back these damaging plans. But
these pressu res won’t be going away, so our fight to sustain these vital
services continues.
Alongside this, we intend to continue to expand our local community
services significantly. This will mean recruiting and working with more
volunteers, more effectively – and finding new ways to fund and sustain our
work for the people confronting deafness, tinnitus and hearing loss who
need us.
We also intend to improve the support we offer to people who are deaf with
multiple needs, both through continuing and expanding our high-quality
Care and Support services.
Technology and Treatments
We’ll continue to invest in biomedical research to accelerate the discovery
and development of treatments to prevent hearing loss, restore hearing and
silence tinnitus.
We’ll build on the intensive work we started last year to understand
how technology can be improved to better meet the needs of people
confronting deafness, tinnitus and hearing loss; catalyse technological
innovation; and support the development of new products to improve the
lives of people we support.