It was felt that “The United Kingdom Federation of Professionals in Hearing and Balance” was a rather unwieldy title and was not user friendly. After much discussion it was agreed that Hearing and Balance UK was a more appropriate, up to date and easily understood title. The subtitle was felt to be important as it emphasises the multidisciplinary representation of the membership. The name change was ratified by the present members of UKFPHB

The organisation, originally known as The National Committee of Professionals in Audiology (NCPA), before changing its name to The United Kingdom Federation of Professionals in Hearing and Balance (UKFPHB) was set up in 1990 as an independent committee representing the interests of the entire range of professional groups active in the field of Audiology. Thus it has a unique status in that it can be said to be a voice for the whole Audiology profession and related disciplines.

Each of the member organisations is represented by a single committee member who acts as link between the HAB UK and their own professional organisation and provides a briefing about the activities of their own professional group at each meeting.

Clerical support is provided by the BSA entirely free of charge and meetings are arranged on a quarterly basis at the National Hospital, Queen Square, London. Our main point of contact is through Catherine Ward at the British Society of Audiology, 80 Brighton Rd, Reading RG6 1PS. Tel 0118 966 0622 or by email to hearingandbalanceuk@thebsa.org.uk

The following organisations have a seat on the committee :

BAA – British Academy of Audiology www.baaudiology.org

BAAP – British Association of Audiovestibular Physicians www.baap.org.uk

BAPA - British Association of Paediatricans in Audiology [previously British Association of Community Doctors in Audiology] www.bapa.uk.com

BAEA - British Association of Educational Audiologists www.educational-audiologists.org.uk

ENT-UK BAO-HNS - British Association of Otolaryngologists – Head & Neck Surgeons www.entuk.org

BATOD - British Association of Teachers of the Deaf www.batod.org.uk

BSA - British Society of Audiology

BSHAA - British Society of Hearing Aid Audiologists www.bshaa.com

RCSLT – Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists www.rcslt.org.uk

The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy have also recently been invited to join HAB UK.

In addition to the above organisations who have full membership there are several organisations with observer status on the committee:

MRC IHR - Medical Research Council Institute of Hearing Research

NDCS – National Deaf Children’s Society www.ndcs.org.uk

NHS Supply Chain – NHS Supply Chain www.supplychain.nhs.uk

RNID – Royal National Institute for Deaf People www.rnid.org.uk

UKCoD - United Kingdom Council on Deafness www.deafcouncil.org.uk

Four observer seats are also reserved for Government/Assembly representatives from England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, one from each country.

Hearing and Balance UK is thus unusual in that it is very broad-based, consisting of representatives from the field of education as well as healthcare, from charities as well as professional bodies, from the private as well as the public sector.

The primary aims of HAB UK are to

• provide a national forum for debate of professional issues
• to provide a forum for the sharing of information
• to act as a collective voice for all professions in hearing and balance
• prepare and advise on reports and give recommendations on issues regarding hearing and balance services and related matters

As HAB UK represents a wide variety of associations it is able to view audiological issues from a wider perspective than may be possible in totally profession based organisations. It is therefore in a very good position to act as a channel of access between professional associations and the relevant government departments.

HAB UK will also, via working parties, produce position statements, guidelines and statements of best practice on a very wide range of issues, for example UNHS, lost/damaged hearing aids, classroom acoustics and service provision.

For further information about HAB UK please contact Catherine Ward on the telephone number above.