WA’s newborn hearing screening program will be expanded to include babies born at private hospitals.
There are 29 hospitals across the State that carry out the newborn screening and the inclusion of private hospitals will mean more babies will be tested.
Health Minister Kim Hames said $1 million in funding would be provided for the program.
“We have a record number of babies being born in WA, so it is imperative that we acknowledge the importance of early intervention and this funding will allow us to do that,” he said.
More than 136,000 newborn babies have been screened through the program to determine whether they have any hearing abnormalities.
In WA, four in 1000 babies tested have some type of hearing impairment.
The program, run by the Child and Adolescent Health Service, with support from the WA Country Health Service, began in Perth’s five biggest maternity hospitals and has since grown based on the success of early identification.
Without newborn hearing screening, 75 per cent of children with permanent hearing loss would remain undiagnosed by their first birthday.