ENT

The purpose of the UCLPartners Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) Programme is to bring together clinical work and basic science to provide innovative therapies and pathways for patients. We aim to foster a wider vision and higher aspirations for ENT in Central London and beyond. The Programme has three main focus areas.

Every Child a Listener, Every Child a Communicator

Our Programme’s first goal is “Every Child a Listener”. We want every child in Central London to have the best and earliest screening for hearing; and we want them triaged appropriately so they see the right people straight away. Then we want their rehabilitation and treatment provision to be as speedy as possible and the best it can be. This is absolutely crucial: deafness can result in a child dropping 20 IQ points for life. Detecting hearing problems early can achieve major population and economic gains.

To achieve this goal we have partnered with the MRC Hearing & Communication Group based at the Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust, under the leadership of Professor Adrian Davis. The group implemented and directs universal Newborn Hearing Screening in England and brings vast expertise in delivering national screening programmes.

Furthermore, Adrian Davis’s group is involved in many strands of hearing research, focusing on hearing screening in young children and the impact of hearing screening over the life-course with the aim to improve life quality of the population by means of appropriate and timely interventions.

But we’re not satisfied with children being able to listen – we are equally committed to achieving the goal of “Every Child a Communicator”. Communication is far more than just being to hear, talk and see: you have to be able to integrate all of these. To deliver on this goal, the Programme is tapping into UCL’s tremendous strengths in communication research.

More clinical trials for ENT

A second major focus is to get more clinical trials going in ENT and Audio-Vestibular Medicine – which historically have had the lowest number of trials for any medical specialty. To start with, our Programme is embedding several studies in the new UCLPartners Clinical Trials Unit.

In identifying and developing clinical trials, we are working with Europe’s leading ENT trialist, Professor Anne Schilder from the University of Utrecht. Through ENT-UK, we have partnered with a patient group, the James Lind Alliance, to identify the key questions that patients themselves are asking.  As part of UCLPartners, we will recruit patients from various partner institutions to take part in the trials –  including children from Great Ormond Street Hospital.

Building a new ENT hub

The Programme has put forward the case for building a new ENT hub, close to University College London Hospital. We hope to take the commitment and efficiency of the Royal National Throat, Nose and Ear Hospital with us to a new, fit-for-purpose, world-class and eco-friendly site. This site will strengthen our capacity to serve as a base for ENT not just in Central London but across the whole country – including for national training, for teaching medical students and for research.

For more information, please contact Professor Martin Birchall, Programme Director for Ear, Nose and Throat Surgery and Audio-Vestibular Medicine at UCL Partners.