From 1st July 2025, the practice will no longer be able to offer ear wax removal. The local commissioners (the Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Integrated Care Board) have advised us that simple ear wax removal, for the purposes of impacted wax alone, is no longer to be funded on the NHS in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent. Patients will still be able to have ear wax removed, when clinically appropriate, where they meet the local policy criteria (e.g. if there is a foreign object, an infection, trauma or other referable abnormality or if a patient has learning disabilities or dementia and requires more complex care), or where it is part of an Ears, Nose and Throat (ENT) or Audiology pathway. For more information see Earwax build-up – NHS

Anyone who wishes to make a complaint following the policy change is asked to contact the ICB Patient Advice and Liaison team (PALS) Patient advice and liaison service / complaints – Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent ICB

The NICE Guidelines have changed and now recommend that patients who are over 75 years or those who are frail, should repeat their blood monitoring tests every 4 months.

Changes | How up-to-date is this topic? | Anticoagulation – oral | CKS | NICE