Children’s Hearing Screening Unit – Halton, St Helens and Knowsley

General introduction

The hearing screening unit offers a newborn hearing screen to all babies who have a GP in our area or who are born at Whiston Hospital.

We aim to complete the screen within four weeks of birth, or before discharge for babies born at Whiston Hospital.

School nurses also provide a school hearing screening service for children in Halton and St Helens.

Our clinical base for the newborn hearing screen is located on the Maternity Unit at Whiston Hospital.

Community clinics are available for babies who could not be screened in hospital or whose screen was incomplete. These clinics are held at locations across the area, closer to families’ homes.

Community clinic locations include:

Lowe House, St Helens
Nutgrove Villa, Huyton
Whiston Primary Care Resource Centre, Whiston
Tower Hill, Kirkby
Woodview Child Development Centre, Widnes
Hallwood Health Centre, Runcorn

How to access this service

Every baby born at Whiston Hospital is offered a newborn hearing screen by a trained screener.

Screening takes place at the bedside on:

the Women’s Ward
the Delivery Suite
the Special Care Baby Unit
and occasionally the Children’s Ward

Outpatient appointments can also be arranged on the Women’s Ward.

Babies who have an incomplete screen, or who are born at home, are seen in local community clinics.
Babies born at other hospitals but registered with a GP in our area will be transferred to us for an outpatient appointment.