The disappointment felt by Bradford people who are having a long wait for a digital hearing aid is understandable enough. This new technology means that users get a better hearing quality than with the traditional analogue aids. Expectations have been raised.

So when those who seek to improve their quality of life discover that they might have to wait for two years, it's hardly surprising that they feel let down and place the blame where they think it sits most appropriately. In this case the suggestion is that Bradford Hospitals NHS Trust is not giving the right sort of priority to this service because it doesn't fall within the Department of Health's system of waiting-list targets.

Given recent publicity about the chicanery practised within the NHS at various trusts and hospitals elsewhere, that suspicion is reasonable enough. However, in this case it would seem to be unjustified.

Advances in hearing-aid technology have apparently raced ahead of the recruiting and training of staff to cope with demand. It is an NHS-wide problem. Bradford advertised twice last year for specialist nurses and received not a single application. So even if this service did have targets set, it is probable that they still would not be met.

The good news is that thanks to staff working evenings and weekends, the waiting time for patients needing their first hearing aid is now down to 14 months - an improvement but still a long time. Let's hope that sooner rather than later the trust is able to recruit the staff it needs to reduce the wait to a more acceptable level.