Hearing loops in public spaces for Southampton

Southampton City Council is working with local NHS organisations and charities to help provide hearing loop systems for small businesses and GP surgeries across the city for free.

The partnership, which includes GO! Southampton, the council, NHS Southampton City Clinical Commissioning Group (SCCCG), Southampton Healthwatch and Lets Loop Southampton, sees £54,000 worth of funding available for small businesses and GP surgeries to use to install hearing loops designed to benefit those with hearing loss conditions.

This is part of an ambition to make Southampton the first city in the UK to have a hearing loop system in every public building, with the funding creating potential for an additional 200 premises to have the systems installed.

Satvir Kaur, cabinet member for Homes and Culture at Southampton City Council added: “It is a pleasure to be able to support this initiative to make Southampton more accessible for people with a hearing loss and it will provide a step towards Southampton becoming the first city in the UK to have a hearing loop system in every public building. I would encourage small businesses and GP surgeries to apply for the grant to help them to support their customers or patients with hearing loss in a more personal way.”

James Rimmer, managing director at NHS Southampton CCG, added: “We were hugely impressed with the work of the Let’s Loop Southampton group in its campaign for more hearing loops in the city to support people who are hard of hearing or deaf. The group compiled an audit of existing loops in GP practices, and this led to the CCG agreeing to put in place funding for new loops in GP practices which need them. We are delighted to be supporting this project.”