Tuesday, December 11, 2007

No such thing as free TV...

First prize today for sheer meanness of spirit must go to Patient Line, the company responsible for providing "Pay As You View" bedside television for patients at the Royal Sussex County Hospital.

Cyril Holes was recovering from his fourth stomach operation this year, watching a small battery-operated television which he brought in from home.

He was surprised when a woman from Patient Line told him to "turn it off or we'll prosecute you". Despite his protestations, Patient Line insisted that Mr Holes could only watch their TV set at a cost of £2.90 a day.

The company are wrong, of course, and overstepping their remit, but like the companies making a fortune from providing telephone facilities, I wonder how many other frail and vulnerable people have been harangued and bullied in this way?

Why can't we just let patients recuperate, rather than 'doorstepping' them in their beds?

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