Written question asked by Charles Walker (Conservative) on Wednesday, 19 July 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 24 July 2006. It was answered by Andy Burnham (Labour) on Monday, 4 September 2006 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Telephones (Hospitals)

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reason the NHS decided to allow the subsidy of patients’ bedside telephone and entertainment services from charges for incoming calls.

Answer: The telephone service is primarily a service for the patients, while in hospital.Three private companies are licensed to provide bedside televisions and telephones to major hospitals in England. The incoming call charges range from 35 pence per minute to 49p per minute.At the time of setting up the licensing procedure the Department specified that the outgoing call rate should be set at less than the national call rate and that free television should be made available for children.The private companies set charges for all the other services to ensure the commercial viability of the initiative.

Secondary information