Tv / WiFi in hospital prices - covid changes

[Organisedchaos2022]

We spend a lot of time in hospital with DD on childrens ward. The tv had always been costly at nearly 8.00 for 24 hours on all wards.
Apart from children we did get it free certain times after these times to watch movies on the tv it was 8.00 a day.
To her WiFi premium which is the one you need to be able to stream also costs 7.95.
During covid there made all of these free which was tad confusing as there is always people isolated in cubicles not sure why covid was a reason to all of a sudden care.
AIBU to think this could be something they permanently change ?

[quote Organisedchaos2022]@EachBleachBlairTrump but that’s not true there is loads of long term patients especially our hospital which the children speciality is generally at least 18 months before your allowed home.[/quote]
So as medium to long term patients these children would be accessing hospital schools and other enrichment activities (e.g. the hospitals hosting guide and scout units for children.)

The longest Ive been in is 16 days but fuck me, Im not sure I could afford to pay those charges, especially since I live on disability benefits.

For £25 a month I have unlimited data on my phone which you can hotspot to an iPad - just do this. If you use the hospital's equipment it has to be paid for

I'm sorry op, but the nhs has £x. Would I prefer that £x to be spent on savings someone's life or tv? It's the former.

I’ve never heard of a hosting guide or scouts soo no. Also they get 1-1 for an hour a day education as all isolated in to cubicles.

@IHaveBrilloHair it’s ridiculous there can be a cost but come on 16.00 a day . Most of these parents are out of a job.
It’s east to say oh well they can have some puzzles. These are children going though harsh and very very wrong treatments that cause them to be in bed most of their days having transfusions etc
Surely there is a cheaper way than 16.00 a day so they can watch movies or play games.

Just hotspot if from a phone or buy a data plan from your network provider for the iPad. DS was in hospital on and off for November and it cost us nothing (other than a billion sandwiches from M&S) as he just watched films on Netflix through his phone.

I have not read replies but I have grown up being in & out of hospital due to having a health condition. Back when I was younger (I am nearing 28 now) TV was free on the children's ward, then as you say it was only certain times of the day 8-6 I believe it was then. All the cubical rooms which is what I was always put in had their own TV which was free 24hrs a day, these were supplied hubthe hospital The TVs in bays above beds are not owned by the NHS but another company. On the adult wards you don't get any free TV just radio, it's mega expensive at something like £27 for 3 days? I have been in hospital twice since the pandemic first started, once I was admitted onto a Covid ward with suspected Covid & second time was just a normal chest ward. Neither time was the TV free or at a discount. I don't think all hospitals have th3 same company supplying the TV, I do not think its something they'll continue after Covid as their whole point is to make money unfortunately.

The hot spot only works if you have sufficient network though which Trust me is just not the case we tried.
I will always pay because you know I don’t think children in hospital should sit in silence. Alot of these children don’t have parents staying with them etc and so keeping them entertained also helps the nurses etc as it Estes recourses when they are not.

@Mummaofboys93 9 am - 12 channel 1-5 is free and the radio station.

Yes op there probably is a cheaper way, but private companies are in it for the profit unfortunately so aren’t going to provide services at minimal cost. And even providing them cheaper will be at cost to the NHS. It’s shit for the patients but it is what it is. Again, portable DVD players are a good/cheap option.

Tv is free for children but not adults at my hospital (private company) but to be honest very basic channels they don’t always watch, so patients tend to bring in their own tech to stream or watch downloaded via free WiFi or their own data.

@ChasingRainbows19 if free WiFi was an option I think that would be ideal.

@Organisedchaos2022

It doesn’t necessarily need to be funded in the sense of costing 8.00 Per day per patient for the NHS. I’m just sure there is a cheaper way that using over priced outside services.

I mean, I'm sure you're right, but these companies aren't offering WiFi out of the kindness of their hearts - they're there to make money.

Ok still interested in what hospital scouts is mentioned above
Anyone know ?

Given how cash-strapped the NHS is, I can't see this as a good use of resources, I'm afraid. There's the hardware (the televisions) and then presumably the license fee/whatever subscription you're after. It's going to add up. I can see it isn't great for the children, but I'd rather they had access to the required medicines/care than the TV.

I agree with you OP. I don't think they should charge on the children's wards and the costs for adults are overinflated. It could greater a two tier system for children with rich and poor parents which is unacceptable imo.

Hospital parking should definitely be free. It doesn't affect people too much for a one off appt or a short stay but when people are in hospital for weeks and months it can mean that their friends and relatives can't afford to visit them much at all. It could also be prohibitively costly for people who have to go in for regular treatments (cancer patients usually get a pass but not other conditions).

I don't mind too much a charge for WiFi if you could opt out and use a dongle or data package instead. However in most hospitals there seems to be terrible or non existent phone signal forcing you to pay for their expensive WiFi or bed phones. Not sure why that is, but it seems very convenient. They have a monopoly which gives people no choice but to pay the overinflated monopoly prices. Again not a huge issue for a short stay but for longer ones that can be very isolating for people.

I'm shocked at this as well ! Surely there is an alternative to the hospital using this service.
We are regular attenders to children's wards across 2 hospitals and all the (individual) rooms have a TV on the wall with free view and could plug in a firestick in some of them to be able to access prime/netflix etc as well as decent free WiFi.
I agree OP especially in children's wards there is a need for some basic on screen entertainment to be available for free.
People on mumsnet have been going on for weeks about how hard done by kids have been with schools closed and having to stay at home, how bored they are etc even though they probably have access to tv at home but yet the very same people would deny children in hospital who spend months/years isolated in a tiny 4 walled room some free access to TV when they aren't fit to do much else !

@RavingAnnie that’s it ! Our parking is 10.00 a day the patients are long term the only patients for free parking is oncology.
Mental health and keeping children calm etc is also so important in their recoveries to.
Signal is defo an issue.

Childrens wards usually have a games room fully equipped with toys, books, art stuff, consols etc.
I've spent my life in and out of hospitals. As soon as wifi was a thing I got it and go with companies that don't charge extra for tethering. I got a cheap tablet and subscription to amazon every year.

Hospital stays are expensive as you make them. Like the cafes and shops in the hospital, your dh drives why doesn't he pop into a supermarket to pick up things? When I'm allowed visitors that's what I ask them to do. Drinks, because you cannot help yourself because of Covid, I bought 2 flasks for hot and cold water.
Might take him longer but public transport might be cheaper. There's apps that find you cheaper/free parking so the carpark costs can be avoided.

Then of course you can still get deliveries to the ward and the delivery people message when they are on the way to the ward and I meet them at the ward doors.

There are also charities that can help with the financial costs. A starting place is entitledto. Also if you google the illness you should also come across more charities. Social workers, nhs, schools etc might also know about local charities. Depending on the type of school, they might have some funds for a tablet (the SEN schools I worked with had a seperate fund for parents/carers.)

Haha @gallbladderpain I was thinking the exact same but one thing I have learned during covid is where the vulnerable/ suck children were viewed in society so did jog bring it up.

My DH drives ? Are we just assuming things now. This one isn’t about my individual circumstances it’s about a ward full of children who don’t have access to basics entertainment when they are bed bound because of the over inflated prices.
For what Ifs worth her dad hasn’t been her life since the day she was born so no doesn’t drive to the hospital.

Charities are very hit and miss depending on the illness that a child has. There is lots of great charities for specific children unfortunately not for the ones who don’t have the correct illness - but that’s a whole different thread.

The wifi is free the hospital were I work. TV is always free on the childrens wards but you have to pay for tv on the adult wards. However, tv has been free for adults since april last year due to covid. It's a private contract and seems to vary from hospital to hospital

Presumably most patients if they are 1-2 years old on average do have a parent with them 99% of the time?
I would just download things to iPad at home, and then no internet needed at the hospital. Downloads last 30 days, so just too up with new stuff every day

Although I do agree £16 is ott for even profit making. Maybe something like £5 per day, or £25 per month ( for anyone staying more than 1-2 nights)