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

[ModreB]

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.

You do need to pay PRS for TV. Different types of businesses pay different rates but there is a charge.

It's free in the community hospital I work in. There is a TV in each bay of four beds, in each side room and a larger one in the day room, with a DVD player.

They were all paid for by money fundraised by the league of friends who support the hospital with extras that the NHS can't afford. If anyone would like to fundraise for similar equipment in their local hospitals in will almost certainly be very welcome.

Excellent suggestion Spartak and we did do exactly that a few years ago for a children's palliative care setting along with donating a couple of CD players and video players plus loads of kids videos. Little things can make so much difference when someone is bedbound/in pain etc.

Yanbu op. Although, not sure it should be free as such, but a small fee. Our local hospital charges a fortune to watch the tv. I certainly wouldn't pay what they charge. It's something like £80 for 4 days. There's something seriously wrong with their pricing there. My father was in hospital for nearly 4 months, and this was our gripe. Not many people would pay for it.

It's not just the paying for it its the whole having to understand the system, be able to 'log on', work the devices etc. No good for the elderly or those with dementia even if someone has the time to set it all up for them they have to remember how to use it. If they can't read it's a long day with nothing to break the monotony and also a tv can help keep them in touch with the world and on the ball/interested. The new set up can alienate some people.

I took my laptop and a few favourite films. Then for a longer stay I had a pay as you go dongle and my laptop. YABU

Pick up a book?

YANBU, at least for free to air tv. Would be helpful if it could exclude anything such as Jeremy Kyle or soaps that could make patients depressed, though that is unlikely.

When I was in for 4 days after DS1, I just longed to turn the blasted thing off as it was just a source of blue light shining in my face being another barrier to sleep. I tried to look at it to find switches but failed. It was hard enough getting an over worked nurse to deal with anything medical let alone faffing with a TV, and the effort of getting on and off the bed felt like a military boot camp session.

I can see a generation split here with older people benefiting more and younger people preferring wifi and tablets. As a maternity patient, dealing with a newborn was more than enough to fill my time! Motivation is important to recovery, but TV costs are an additional expense to the NHS. Costs of TV to the patient should be reasonable and affordable. When the infrastructure is established, the cost of replacing an individual TV has come down significantly over the years, and things like licensing costs would be fairly low per TV.

YABU. The NHS is there to provide Healthcare, not Entertainment. Take some books in if you can't afford the TV fees.

No it shouldn't be free but I'd like to see wifi (chargeable) more widely available especially in outpatient clinics).

I think parking is a real issue as so many hospitals are often not well connected to transport links or people attending them have difficulty using public transport.

Parking at the hospitals I tend to use is very restricted and very expensive. Two of the three hospitals should have another level of parking; one is pay and display - hopeless if you are an outpatient; one has no credit/debit card facility. Again hopeless if you are there in an emergency and don't have cash - except if you are young and fit you can walk the 1/4 mile to the cash point at the main entrance, possibly with a baby in a car seat. There is no signage about this cash point.

I am fine with TV being a luxury and not an automatic right. (May still be grouchy from recovering from surgery when the bed opposite decided to watch some stupid sports thing on the TV at full volume).

yes we've all got those ha ha ha

I had a relative that we set up the paid tv for. She was moved to another bed just after visiting one night and by the time I went the next evening the person in her old bed space has used up all the credit on the tv (and making phone calls) and my poor relative was very confused and upset that her tv wouldn't work. The system is far too complicated for some people to understand and very expensive too.

But agree with people saying WiFi should be better. Would much rather pay for decent WiFi than TV.

I agree parking is a big issue.

The best for parking I have found is Alder hey - £2 flat rate and you can get the token at any point.

I really have to ask: where are these hospitals providing private rooms for patients? Around here it's all communal wards, the most private one having still 4 beds in it! A TV in there is hell, let alone 4! (or 6 or 8)

I do agree that the costs are outrageous, but our whole hospitals need a rethink. Sadly things are slowly getting worst.

In the hospital I work, on the children's unit the TV is free 12 hours a day.

I don't know whether this is to help calm, pacify and entertain the children or to allow the parents who are there 24/7 to have some form of distraction. Either way, it's a bit of a saviour!

i was a mental health nurse for many our service users were able to watch tv but in the day room .

Lots of hospitals have free TVs in single rooms, on elderly care wards, on children's wards and in dayrooms. People can use iPads or laptops to watch so it's a bit of a non issue.

With NHS struggling is this really best use of money?

Read a book ffs

It's very expensive but there is no way the NHS can provide personal televisions at each bed for free. It's an impossibility. I've seen this from both sides, as a patient and as a doctor.
The main problem seems to be inpatients are rarely sure how long they will be in hospital so are often unable to taken up the discounted offers (I believe £40 a week for television and films/sports) so end up paying £10 a day for services which is understandably hard to swallow.

The nurses on the ward I was recently a patient on, were telling patients that Sainsbury's (across the road) had portable DVD players for £20 and many of us sent out visitors to buy one and bring in box sets to steam through.

On the subject of televisions, I think it should be manadatory to wear headphones if you are using the televisions or your own equipment. The amount of hospitals I've worked in or been a patient where the televisions are blaring is mind boggling. Not at restful place to be.

Read a book ffs

very helpful advice for people who can't see well, or are under strong medication that makes everything a bit blurry....

put Quite how you expect patients to read a book when they have had a stroke, brain injury, dementia, arm injury, eyesight problems and any number of medical complaints is beyond me.

I don't think it should be free, as I mentioned above however television helps an immeasurable number of patients feel calm, safe and keeps the boredom at bay. Several people use it as a comfort as it reminds them of their home routine.
The number of elderly patients who become distressed at the thought of their routine (which often revolves around television) is huge. The majority of wards no longer have Day rooms as they have been converted to teaching space or extra beds.