Written question asked by Denis MacShane (Labour) on Monday, 30 April 2007, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 2 May 2007. It was answered by Andy Burnham (Labour) on Thursday, 10 May 2007 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Hospitals: Telephones

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what payments her Department has made to Patientline;

Answer: The Department has not made any payments to Patientline. Contracts are agreed directly between the NHS trust and their chosen service provider. The service provider pays the costs of installation and managing the service and charges the patient directly, if they choose to use its services.Since August 2005, some 182 members of the public have written to the Department about integrated bedside television and telephone services. The number of complaints this correspondence may contain is not identified separately.

Secondary information