Patients charged £7.90 per day to watch TV at Chesterfield Royal Hospital

Hospedia, the company that provides bedside television services at Chesterfield Royal Hospital, offers a £7.90 one-day package, which includes TV channels, movies, BT sports, internet and audio books. Various other packages are available, including a £50 TV-only package which lasts for 30 days.

Krishna Kallianpur, Chief Nurse at Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, said that the Royal has no control over how much is charged and makes no profit from the service.

“We know that no-one chooses to spend time in hospital, so we think it is important that people have access to entertainment while they are with us, should they choose to use it. This is why we provide free wifi across the hospital for any patients who wish to use their own mobile or tablet while onsite.

“The bedside television and telephone service at the hospital is provided by a company called Hospedia. Therefore, the hospital doesn’t manage this service, set the charges or receive a profit.

“To help patients, the service offers free outbound calls to 01,02, 03 and mobile numbers, as well as free access to radio. TV viewing is also free for channels one-five between 7am and 12 noon, and between 7am and 7pm on our children’s wards. We are always happy to work with any patients who are staying for an extended period to see what alternatives can be offered.”

The Hospedia service was set up a result of Patient Power Project launched by Tony Blair’s government. This Act of Parliament from 2000 mandated that the service would not be paid for by the NHS or funded by taxes. The result is that patients must, ultimately, be the ones to fund the installation, maintenance, support and development of the system.

The Royal also advised that patients can claim back the cost of unused days on longer-term packages, and said that Hospedia are happy to reimburse users.

We have approached Hospedia for a comment.