'Hospital said our son was fine but he can't hear'

The parents of a four-year-old boy who used to stand very close to the television to be able to hear properly have said they were "devastated" to find that doctors may have wrongly given him the all clear.

Freddie spent 34 weeks in intensive care at Stepping Hill after he was born prematurely in 2021, and passed routine newborn hearing tests.

His father Jack said it became clear as his son grew up that he could not hear properly, and he then needed hearing aids that were not tuned correctly, so there had been "setback after setback".

Stepping Hill Hospital apologised for the harm caused to Freddie and "other families involved in the incorrect diagnosis of hearing conditions in young children".

Freddie's parents were one of several families who were sent formal letters by the NHS hospital in Stockport that acknowledged concerns about the standard of care.

An internal review had found potential inaccuracies in some paediatric hearing tests.

A Stepping Hill Hospital spokesman said a national review raised concerns about how the tests were performed in hospitals across the country.

"We have written to the families involved and have kept them informed of this process," he said.

Jack, 31, said he and Freddie's mum were reassured when he passed the routine hearing checks at the time, but later noticed "he just wasn't responding to us in the way our other children did".

"He would stand very close to the television, he was much louder than his brothers and sisters, and sometimes it felt like he just couldn't hear us properly."

At the age of two he was then fitted with hearing aids, but his parents said they were later told the aids "hadn't been tuned correctly".

"It just feels like setback after setback," Jack said.

"Speech and language therapists have told us he's missed key developmental milestones."

"That's been devastating to hear, because you can't help but think that if this had all been picked up earlier, things could have been different."

"Even now, Freddie's mum sometimes feels responsible and feels like she's failed him. She gets down about it at times. It's been devastating to think that something could have been done sooner."

He said the family "want honesty" over a potential missed diagnosis that will affect their son "for the rest of his life".

Their experience comes after an England-wide review commissioned by Health Secretary Wes Streeting found children across 139 audiology services were given poor testing, misinterpreted results and delays in care.

Francesca Paul, of Fletchers Solicitors, who is representing families affected by the issue, said early diagnosis in cases like Freddie's was "absolutely critical", with delays having serious long-term effects on development.

She added: "Many of the families we are supporting have received near-identical duty of candour letters, which raises important questions about how widespread these issues may be.

"It is vital that there is full transparency and accountability."

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