Bradford's top ear doctor says the city is leading the way in offering life-changing surgery to deaf babies.

Chris Raine, clinical director at Bradford Royal Infirmary's Ear Implant Unit, said doctors throughout Yorkshire were referring deaf babies for assessment at the respected centre.

And dozens of profoundly deaf babies from across the region had been given cochlear implants to help them hear - bucking trends elsewhere.

The top surgeon was responding to criticism made in the national press by John Graham, a London-based consultant, who claimed the NHS was failing deaf babies because of delays in offering them cochlear operations.

Mr Graham said some primary care trusts were having problems funding the operations, which cost about £30,000 per child.

Delays can mean a cochlear operation has less effect.

But Mr Raine said there were no problems with funding the operations in Bradford, with most children in the district who require the procedure going under the knife between the age of one and two years old.

Bradford primary care trusts carried out about 40 cochlear implants last year.

Mr Raine said: "From Bradford's point of view we are doing what we are referred. We work very closely with the primary care trusts and negotiate numbers with them.

"Compared with ten years ago, life is much easier for the children who need this treatment.

"The super-regional service we offer does take a few months to get children through the system. On average, from the time youngsters are referred to us it takes around eight months to operate.

"This compares well with other areas across the country. However, in emergencies, for example if a child has meningitis, we can get them in quicker than that."

Whereas hearing aids amplify sound, cochlear implants pick up sound through an external microphone located behind the ear and transmit it as a radio signal across the skin to a nearby receiver.

Babies are screened shortly after birth which usually detects hearing problems.

Subsequent tests then take place to determine how deaf the child is, as cochlear implants are only used on the profoundly deaf.

Mr Raine added: "If we have a profoundly deaf child we put hearing aids on them and assess them.

"If an implant is needed, it usually happens between the ages of one and two.

"If you have not implanted by the age of five or six, then the operation will not be as successful.

"The operation takes about two hours and can leave children with near maximum auditory levels.

"Patients can use a mobile phone and function like everyone else."

A spokesman for the Bradford primary care trusts said: "Funding for the process which can lead to cochlear implants is not something we have a problem with in Bradford."