In case there are journalists eyeing up this thread...bugger off!
They get angry that there aren’t more “movie style channels” or better range of sport channels. I guess they mean like the Sky channels. NB Not all of the people get cross, but quite a few.
I remember once I was looking after a v sick person, I got yelled at by another person for not being able to find a usable tv remote. I’ve had people threaten to self discharge, I’ve had people demand I change their room, I’ve had people yell/swear about the tellies not being up to scratch/working, signal dropping out, or whatever. The tv’s we have were given as a gift to the hospital, however we don’t have the funds to fix or replace them if they go wrong.
A paid for service, would be better as at least it means that there would be people about who could sort/fix it (going by what I saw where I trained!). I think if there was a sensible way of charging or making things less expensive, people would be happier to pay for it. It’s a tough one. I’d be happy if everything worked perfectly and there were no issues, but honestly there are times when I just wish that the powers that be never put the tellies into the wards, because even with free ones, they’re just not up to par for some people, and we get it in the neck for something that really is beyond our control. I’ve even lent my own phone or iPod for a while so that someone with a non-working tv (or no personal mobile phone) can listen to music or make a call (prior to us getting cordless phones) or watch something. I could get in trouble for doing that, but I do understand how it’s important to give people a break from what is happening and to let them take their mind of things