Tony Innes, an Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) specialist, who retired as Deputy Medical Director, Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital NHS Trust, last February, is the new President of Norfolk Deaf Association (NDA).

The charity, which has been active in Norfolk since 1898, has received a £10,000 Modernisation Fund Grant to help Mr Innes and his fellow trustees plan the next phase of NDA’s life, and ensure that it can more effectively support hearing needs in the county. The Modernisation Fund is a Government initiative to help the voluntary sector combat the impact of the recession.

NDA currently runs the Norfolk Hearing Support Service (NHSS) comprising a mobile clinic (formerly know as the Listen Here Bus), home visiting for people with limited mobility and hearing aid clinics at 13 locations in the county. The charity also offers Befriending, Tinnitus Support and Deaf Awareness Training.

NDA urgently needs to raise £60,000 for its services, particularly the mobile clinic, which was initially set up with lottery funding. The mobile clinic works in 28 Norfolk towns and villages including Dereham, Ormesby, Thetford and Sheringham. Trained volunteers help hard of hearing National Health hearing aid users with maintenance and general advice. NDA’s ambition is to improve accessibility and extend the range of the clinic in rural Norfolk.

Grants from Norfolk Community Foundation (£4,795) and The Clan Trust (£2,000) and an anonymous donation of £6,000 have been received to support the mobile clinic and train volunteers, but more is needed.

The other elements of NHSS currently receive funding from Norfolk Primary Care Trust. Last financial year NDA was able to help 5,500 hearing aid users and more than 3,500 users were helped during the first six months of the current financial year.

Tony Innes said: “Funds are tight, but we are confident that we can maintain all our services. However we would particularly like to extend the range of the mobile clinic, which provides assistance directly where there is the need.”

“The Modernisation Fund Grant has allowed us to take a long hard look at the way we run the charity,” continued Mr Innes, “including more effective business planning and fundraising. We have been helped by Aliona Laker, former General Manager at Norfolk and Norwich Families’ House, and now a consultant in the voluntary sector, who is working closely with us as we focus on our governance and operational management to ensure that we can emerge from the recession in good shape.”

Tony Innes MB, BS, FRCS trained at St Thomas’ Hospital Medical School from 1967-72. His first ENT post was at Southend Hospital in 1975. He has worked at Royal National Throat, Nose and Ear Hospital, London, The Nuffield Institute for Hearing London and the Hospital for Sick Children, Great Ormond Street. He was appointed as Consultant ENT Surgeon at Norfolk and Norwich Hospital in 1981, with a special interest in children’s ears, nose and throat disorders and adult ear disease and deafness. He was Deputy Medical Director Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital NHS Trust from 2000 until his retirement in February 2009.

NDA was founded in 1898 and aims to improve the lives of young people and adults with all degrees of hearing loss through providing information, support, awareness and communication. NDA provides the following services: Norfolk Hearing Support Service, Befriending, Tinnitus Support and Deaf Awareness Training, www.norfolkdeaf.org.uk, tel./minicom 01603 404440.