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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to think that TV in hospital should be free for anyone in hospital.

81 replies

ModreB · 23/06/2017 19:06

this makes me really angry

And I know the article is about Manchester, but the wider issue is about poorly people inhopital ill, who may not be able to get to a paypoint to pay for the TV.

Why should people in hospital have to pay for TV that everyone else gets for free? Not necessarily live TV, but freeview TV that doesn't need a licence should be free to watch.

OP posts:
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5
FuzzyPillow · 23/06/2017 19:08

YABU. with the NHS struggling as much as it is it needs every additional income stream it can get. Watching TV is hardly an essential!

I'd rather pay for TV if it means they can afford to fund a cancer drug!

Sirzy · 23/06/2017 19:09

I don't mind having to pay, but the cost is extortionate so I would imagine the company are making a lot of money from it which is where it is wrong IMO.

Batfurger · 23/06/2017 19:10

The hospital have to pay a license plus performing rights or whatever it is.

YABU, did TV become a human right when I wasn't looking?
Didn't think so.

lalalalyra · 23/06/2017 19:11

I think freeview tv should at least be available to anyone on a low income/benefits and I think the package in general should be much cheaper. When my relative was in with an infection related to terminal cancer it cost around £40 a week just for basic tv. There was no access to the day room because she had a chest drain in, and by all accounts the tv in there didn't work anyway (and it was used most of the day for meetings between staff and patients families).

StillDrivingMeBonkers · 23/06/2017 19:12

use your phone or tablet like everyone else.

CMOTDibbler · 23/06/2017 19:12

The TV broadcast might be free, but the TVs to watch it on aren't. Before the pay TVs came into some hospitals (and they aren't in all), you could only watch TV in a dayroom if you were well enough, or on the big wards it might be on the end wall and you were stuck with what was on. So you have to pay, but they are an improvement

SheffUK · 23/06/2017 19:13

If TV was provided for free by the hospitals then the hospitals would have to pay the company for the TVs rather than the other way round.

Pancakeflipper · 23/06/2017 19:14

I think long term patients should have it free or at discounted rates. I spent 10 days in hospital. It was a painful, dull and a good mood killer. TV broke up the tedium in the day waiting for Dr 's, scans etc.

MidnightVelvetthe7th · 23/06/2017 19:16

Young people staying on children’s wards get the service for free from 7am until 7pm, while those on adult wards get five free channels from 8am to noon.

Hospitals provide free at the point of receipt, healthcare. They are there to improve and save lives not to entertain.

And specifically to the article, why would one group of people be 'deserving' of free TV & not others, where do you draw the line if a victim of the bombing were given free TV but not the cancer sufferer in the next ward or the victim of the acid attack a few beds down?

AnaisB · 23/06/2017 19:16

The prices are extortianate and make lots of profit for big US companies - it doesn't get channeled to cancer care!

Shockedshell · 23/06/2017 19:17

I've been in and out of hospital over the years and am happy to pay to have my own TV to watch at my bedside. Years ago it was one TV per room/ward and it would be hogged constantly and on at full blast til all hours. Now i can chose what to watch, when to watch and put headphones on so I'm not disturbing anyone. The price is steep but cost of providing all those monitors maintaining them etc must be paid for somehow i guess.

AnaisB · 23/06/2017 19:18

midnight I agree with your point about "levels of deservedness" though

Ikillallplants · 23/06/2017 19:19

The problem is that the firms who provide the tvs charge ridiculous amounts. It isn't a necessity to have tv but unfortunately lots of people in hospital are waiting for results or coping with bad news, watching TV for a bit as a distraction is a blessed relief.

There should be a communal free tv at least.

I think the companies might find their high charges might bite them on the arse as more people have tablets with Netflix or at least films downloaded. It would be massively cheaper to add a Internet bolt on to their monthly package and youtube, Netflix or sky go it and lots of people will do that instead.

ArchieStar · 23/06/2017 19:20

I'm happy to pay when I'm in hospital, then again I'm a telly addict and use it as pain relief (spoonie here) so for me it's worth it :)

Carolwithane · 23/06/2017 19:22

It's free here in Scotland - at least in my experience. Dad's in hospital just now following his 2nd stroke and there is a tv in his room of 4 patients. Freeview I think

FuzzyPillow · 23/06/2017 19:28

The NHS is struggling to afford to pay for medical treatment and some people think they should be entitled to free TV!!? Unbelievable.

mintbiscuit · 23/06/2017 19:28

Sounds entitled to me. I'm grateful for access to medical treatment. There are plenty of people in the world that don't even get that.

WhatALoadOfOldBollocks · 23/06/2017 19:38

"Hospitals provide free at the point of receipt, healthcare. They are there to improve and save lives not to entertain"
True, but happy patients get better faster than unhappy ones, so it could be false economy to reduce access to TV to those who can afford it. Similarly, food. It's far better to serve appetising meals, that boost moral and improve nutrition status (thus improving healing and subsequent costly stay in hospital) than serve up cheap shite that people don't enjoy. Sometimes it's worth spending on what some people see as unneccessary to save money in the bigger picture.

Itscurtainsforyou · 23/06/2017 19:42

I was in hospital for 4 weeks, bed bound. I used to plan my day around the entertainment available - tv 8-12, rest of the time sleeping/reading/listening to audiobooks/watching stuff on tablet (although I did get screen fatigue after a while).

I think the charges are excessive and long term discounted packages should be available, but there are other things you can do that don't require much effort.

AnaisB · 23/06/2017 19:47

fuzzy It's more that I object to massive profit being made from a captive and sick audience. This money doesn't all go to the NHS.

As others have mentioned it can also be a welcome distraction from pain and distress.

Osolea · 23/06/2017 19:58

I'd rather see free parking and free wifi, but none of this is stuff that should be paid for by the NHS. From that article, it sounds to me like the tv company already gives away its fair share of free telly.

A huge amount of money has been donated to help the victims in Manchester, shouldn't some of that money pay for people to have free access to television while they recover in hospitals?

Albadross · 23/06/2017 20:01

Batfurger do you mean PRS for playing music? You don't need that for TV...

GiraffesCantPlayHopScotch · 23/06/2017 20:03

Our new hospital has tv/games/iplayer etc access in every room which are single rooms now. Oh and free WiFi.

Lovedlost · 23/06/2017 20:11

YANU. My TV is not free.

Fluffyears · 23/06/2017 20:17

Not free in Scotland, must just be the hospital your dad is in. My dad had to pay and as he had problems with memory etc and wouldn't have a clue how to use a tablet or phone we had to pay for his tv to be on.