Hospital phone charges to rise
Patients will now pay 26p per minute for calls in some hospitals
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Wednesday, 04, Apr 2007 11:52
Patients making telephone calls from some bedside sets will face a 160 per cent increase in costs, it was announced today.
Patientline, the UK's main provider of hospital bedside entertainment and communication systems, said that it would be raising costs of calls from ten pence per minute to 26p per minute "for the time being".
People calling patients will pay 39p to 49p per minute.
In a statement this morning, Patientline said that it had reduced the cost of watching television from £3.50 to £2.90, which includes free radio, free internet and free games on internet enabled consoles.
The new telephone pricing structure is being rolled out during April due to the costs of funding and covering all installation (about £1 million per hospital) and the day-to-day running costs.
As a result of this "heavy investment programme", Patientline says that it has "yet to make a profit".
"The alternative to interim price changes would potentially have been to remove services in parts of some hospitals, which Patientline is reluctant to consider as it wants to maintain access and choice for all patients," the company said.
A firm decision on phone charges, it added, has had to be postponed due to "protracted" discussions with the Department of Health.
"Patientline has announced its will and determination to reduce call charges and has been conducting trials to assess different price models and gain patient feedback on a number of sites around the country," the statement adds.