Another media article:

here

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Patients and relatives at two Norfolk hospitals could be freed from "blackmail" phone charges, thanks to an investigation by a government watchdog.

Relatives are being charged up to 16 times the cost of a standard BT call to contact loved-ones at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, King's Lynn.

Patients themselves pay out three times more than on a home phone to use bedside handsets, and as much as £3.50 a day to watch television on individual screens.

But now the charges - branded "blackmail" by Norwich North MP Ian Gibson - could be slashed because of an investigation by Ofcom, which regulates phone and television services.

The watchdog says Patientline, the firm that runs the service, could be breaking competition laws because of high charges for dialling in to hospitals and the use of recorded messages at the start of calls that ramp up the cost.

Ofcom is also concerned about the length and the exclusive nature of deals struck between hospitals and the firm.

The worries are backed up by a NHS-commissioned report quietly released in March which found 90pc of patients rated the cost of incoming calls as expensive, with 62pc saying the same for outgoing calls. The study found that patients in hospital for a week racked up average bills of £46.98, even before taking into account the cost of relatives' calls.

Mobile phone use is banned in most hospital areas because of the risk of interference with lifesaving equipment.

Dr Gibson said: "I have always thought that patients were being fleeced, and I am glad something is being done about it.

"It is absolutely disgraceful that people are being ripped off. When people are in hospital they have enough to worry about without this big expense.

"People want to know how their loved ones are and they might be phoning several times a day. They are almost being blackmailed."

Dr Gibson said he would write to Ofcom to pass on dozens of complaints from constituents about the charges.

Patients' Association chairman Michael Summers has also backed the inquiry.

"Overall it will be beneficial to patients to have bedside telephone and television facilities, but it should not be at any price," he said.

"You have a captive audience of patients, many of whom are elderly, and in many cases those trying to contact them may be elderly themselves. In many cases calls to America or Australia would cost less."

But Patientline boss Derek Lewis said the inquiry would "vindicate" the company's contracts with 155 NHS hospitals. [...]
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Just on the subject of the merits of mobile phone bans in hospitals:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3856845.stm

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/07/29/mobiles_hospitals_health/

http://devices.mhra.gov.uk/mda/mdawebsitev2.nsf/webvwSearchResults/C76ED2F9F6965...

Once these bans are lifted, Patientline will die.

I remember when patientscam was installed at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, King's Lynn.

Our group on the council tried to get a motion passed to get it removed but the good old political group in power decided to chuck it out.

I do like the new name - PatientScam.

SurgeryScam has a nice ring to it too.

On the other hand, my local GPs have recently moved to new surgery premises and, guess what, they installed a new telephone system using - wait for it - their old 01 number!  Marks out of ten?  TEN!

Many years I used to work for a telephone company as a salesman, details are a bit fuzzy as it was nearly thirty years ago.

But I do remember my greatest (and only success)! It was to sell a telephone system to a large company who basically had three sites, wanted one telephone number and 1000 extensions on PMBX.

As this installation was Cross Bar/Strowger it required continuous maintenance by a full time engineer, it also needed an operator at all times although it could be switched to PABX at night. The only electronics involved were some line boosters.

All internal calls were free, (even though they could be ten miles apart) and the rental was £350 per quarter.

Not much of that system is left today, but if it could be done then why can it not be done now e.g., a 1000 bed hospital with free incoming calls to every bedside? Outgoing calls would cost three pence per minute.

I know that the answer to this is obvious, but is not the basic human right to be contacted by, or to contact, ones nearest and dearest when we are sick. It should be included in the NHS budget, not given to some outside firm to rip us off?

What other civilised country does this? Certainly none in Europe that I know about. 49 pence a minute incoming, my God!

http://icsolihull.icnetwork.co.uk/news/local/tm_objectid=16138710%26method=full%...

A KNOWLE man angered by the hefty charges levied for calling a sick relative in Solihull Hospital has complained to telecoms regulator Ofcom.

Dr David Parry, of Tilehouse Green Lane, told the regulator the charges on his phone bill after making calls to his 85-year-old father-in-law were "grossly extortionate".

For one 17-minute call he was charged £6.58, yet as he pointed out, speaking for an hour to his daughter in the south of France cost no more than £1.

As reported in the Solihull Times, bedside phones are provided for patients in Solihull and Heartlands hospitals by a private company called Patientline, which also supplies television, radio and internet access.

Patientline, given the contract for installing the system by Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust, is under investigation by Ofcom after being accused of excessive profit-making.

Dr Parry, a 65-year-old retired industrial chemist, has written to Mark Goldman, chief executive of the trust, asking whether it was profiting from the operation.

In a written reply, Mr Goldman said Patientline owned and ran the equipment and were responsible for tariffs. "I would like to dispel any notion the hospital is profiteering from these facilities," he added.

Dr Parry said he contacted Ofcom because he thought his experience might be helpful to the investigation. "I find it amazing it costs £25 an hour to phone someone in Solihull Hospital but to call Parkway - a private hospital - costs just 30p."

It is continuing. I have noticed since I posted my last item in reply to Shagaddi here that his post seems to have vanished! This makes my reply look rather stupid.

Several of my recent posts have continued to vanish also over the last few days. Makes one wonder whether a hacker is at work here, perhaps working for Ofcom?