HEALTH chiefs have switched on to bringing pay-per-view TV to patients' bedsides at Burnley General Hospital.

Private firm Patientline has been given the go-ahead for a £1 million investment to provide television, radio and telephone services at the hospital.

Patients will have a combined telephone with TV screen on a stand by their bedside to "dial up" the services

The hospital will also be offered its own information channel opening up the possibility in future of doctors calling up patient information on the bedside screen during their rounds.

Burnley Health Care NHS Trust board gave Patientline its unanimous backing yesterday after hearing the service is proving a major success serving 250,000 patients a year in 20 other hospitals.

The scheme will be paid for by Slough-based Patientline and will not cost the Trust a penny.

The work will take three or four months to carry out and the system will initially be installed on the main acute and childrens' wards, spreading through the hospital later. A start date has not been set. Patients currently have to rely on communal televisions in day rooms and certain parts of their ward.

Patientline will recoup its costs through charges for its services as patients will have to buy "smart cards" that will pay for TV services such as BBC, ITV and Sky channels over a certain period. For example a week's TV would cost £20. A premier film channel would cost £3 an event. Telephone charges for patients making outgoing calls would be five per cent below BT payphone charges but incoming calls would cost 50p a minute. Children will get the services free and there will be discount rates for long-stay patients.

Trust member Hazel Harding said: "This is an opportunity to benefit patients at no cost to us."

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