Budget 2021 – $28 million over 4 years for Cochlear Implants

New Zealand’s two cochlear implant providers are delighted that today’s Budget finally includes a sustained funding increase to better meet the growing demand for these life-changing devices. Southern Cochlear Implant Programme chief executive Neil Heslop says, “We have been campaigning for years for a long-term, sustainable funding increase to meet the growing backlog and demand…

April 2021 Newsletter

Welcome to the first Newsletter for 2021 which is now available for viewing and download. As is usual, the Newsletter will also be emailed to those people we hold details for. Anyone we don’t hold an email address for will receive a hard copy by post. We’ll also have a link on our Facebook page.

December 2020 Newsletter

Our latest (December 2020) Newsletter is now available for viewing and download. As is usual, the Newsletter will also be emailed to those people we hold details for. Anyone we don’t hold an email address for will receive a hard copy by post. We’ll also have a link on our Facebook page. 2020 has been…

Changes to Relay Service

Recently the Ministry for Business, Innovation, and Employment (MBIE) got in touch to provide information about the upcoming changes to New Zealand’s Telecommunications Relay Services. A new provider, Concentrix, will begin delivering relay services from 1 February 2021. From this date, some people will experience changes to the way they access and use these services.…

Christmas and New Year Hours 2020-21

A PDF copy of this announcement can be downloaded here. SCIP offices in both Wellington and Christchurch will close at 12.00pm on Thursday 24 December 2020.  Both offices will re-open at 8.30am on Tuesday 5 January 2021. Some restricted services are available during office closure, except weekends and public holidays.   Thursday 24 December          Clinics…

SCIP / NCIP Briefing to the Incoming Minister of Health

In the 2020 general election both parties pledged to increase funding for adult cochlear implants. Labour has formed a government alone and the expectation is that their pre-election pledge will be implemented. A copy of their election pledge can be found here; https://www.labour.org.nz/release-next-steps-in-rebuilding-our-health-system Specifically, we note the following policy released on 29 September 2020:  FISCAL…

SCIP Annual Report 2019-20

Our 2019-20 Annual Report is now available. Shortly, we will send out a copy to our recipients and their families by email for those we hold email addresses for; for others, we will send a copy by post. You can also download a PDF copy here.