An NHS consultant, in an apparent attempt to conserve funds, asked colleagues to "downplay" the benefits of digital hearing aids when speaking to patients, according to a leaked letter.

The letter, by Jeremy Tweed, head of the audiology and hearing therapy service at Dorset County Hospital in Dorchester, appealed to surgeons and consultants not to tell patients the new, but more expensive, digital aids were much better than the old analogue models.

Dated August 7, this year, the letter said: "When you refer patients to us for assessment of candidature for a hearing aid, it is very important that you do not say what of type of hearing aid they will get. It is also very helpful to us if you can downplay the benefits of digital versus standard NHS hearing aids."

Forum Response: Royal National Institute for the Deaf

James Strachan, chief executive of the Royal National Institute for the Deaf, told ePolitix.com: "Mr Tweed's letter is symptomatic of the national crisis in audiology which is affecting West Dorset Trust and every other hospital across the country. There is no excuse for falsely playing down the benefits to patients of digital hearing aids but Mr Tweed should never have been put in this position in the first place.

"Mr Tweed is trying to run an audiology department on a shoestring budget and modern hearing aids cannot be provided while the government is starving them of cash. Moreover, per patient we are talking about a mere £100 for a real chance to revolutionise someone's life. The answer, of course, is not to mislead patients but for the government to address the problem of audiology in crisis - long waiting lists, inadequate funding and staff shortages.

"Even the health minister, Jacqui Smith, acknowledged at the RNID Breaking the Sound Barrier event last Friday that waiting lists are too long and that the system must be modernised and extra money invested. But she still refused to make any commitment to roll-out digital hearing aids for everyone who needs them."