HARK! Projects
A HARK! vehicle is a bespoke mobile clinic, built to Sound Seekers’ own specification. Most have been based on a Land Rover Defender 130 ambulance, although we have also had one built by Tata, for deployment in India.
Each vehicle carries its own generator, to enable the electronic audiology screening equipment to be operated in areas without a stable electricity supply. It also carries its own water supply, fridge for pharmaceuticals, and air conditioning. It has two external awnings to provide shade for waiting patients. Each HARK! clinic carries the audiology equipment necessary to assess a patients hearing and the health of the ear, including otoscopes, tympanometers and audiometers.
HARK! is not JUST the mobile clinic. Other essential elements of each HARKproject include the secondment of local staff to the HARK! team, their training, the setting up of an office, and ultimately, the delivery of a programme of outreach visits across the country. The programme also includes the setting up of permanent laboratories for the manufacture of ear moulds for hearing aids and the calibration, repair and maintenance of audiology equipment, including hearing aids.
A HARK! project, once established has the capacity to provide service to over 10,000 people a year. Each HARK! programme is supported by Sound Seekers for five years before it becomes fully integrated into the local health service.