! This post hasn't been updated in over a year. A lot can change in a year including my opinion and the amount of naughty words I use. There's a good chance that there's something in what's written below that someone will find objectionable. That's fine, if I tried to please everybody all of the time then I'd be a Lib Dem (remember them?) and I'm certainly not one of those. The point is, I'm not the kind of person to try and alter history in case I said something in the past that someone can use against me in the future but just remember that the person I was then isn't the person I am now nor the person I'll be in a year's time.
Patientline, the rip-off provider of over-priced TV and phone services in hospitals, has a new scam – charging for headphones.
TVs have been taken off wards, the old piped radio system has been turned off and payphones have been taken away forcing patients to pay stupid amounts of money to watch TV, listen to the radio or use the phone.
Patientline charges £2.90 per day to watch TV and listen to the radio, they charge 26p per minute to make a phone call and friends and relatives calling in to a patient get charged 49p per minute. Now they plan to charge £1 to buy a set of headphones to listen to the TV or radio.
I read this article with interest. Are you aware of the campaign by journalist Peter Troy to the Health Minister on this subject. Petitions are being signed at many hospitals throughout the country. I am sure he would be glad to have you and your blog readers on board if you are interested. He can be contacted at pt@payientsinneed.org.uk
Best Wishes, June.
Patientline RIP OFF
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My wife is in hospital for an extended stay. In addition to the
limited visiting times, I thought that the PATIENTLINE ‘phone system
would be useful for myself, friends and relatives to keep in touch. How
wrong can one be?
PATIENTLINE charge PREMIUM RATES for calls to the patient. I emailed
the company to find out why they charged such a high rate and if the
charges included the one minute, ten seconds of their slow and lengthy
message.
Here is my email:
Your telephone charges for callers to the patient seem to be
excessively high, why is this so?
From connecting to patientline why do we have to suffer at least 1
minute and 10 seconds of: first 27 seconds about charges and 43 seconds
of other mainly unnecessary talking and pauses? Do your premium rate
charges apply from first connection or when you finally connect to the
patient? If it is the former this is most disagreeable and
profiteering.
Your monopoly for telephone contact to a patient should not be abused.
The answer I received was prompt but not helpful. The reply made me
see RED.
The charging for the call starts from the time that you are connected
to the system.
While I understand your concerns about the cost of the call, I should
calrify that this is a private phone system and therefore is charged at
a premium rate. It is simply because of this that we remind callers of
the cost each time they call. In trials where we have omitted the
message we have received a high volume of complaints that we were not
telling callers how much they were spending per minute. The message is
lengthy because we have to take account of the fact that many customers
may have English as a second language or have communication
difficulties.
I should add that a patient calling from the bedside to a BT landline
is only charged 10p per minute (although charges will vary for
international calls and calls using other networks).
Thank you for using Patientline.
Angela McIntosh
Consumer Relations Officer
Patietnline UK Ltd
I didn’t like the tone of this reply.
Firstly, users calling a patient pay 57p (peak time) for listening to
a lengthy and drawn out message. The first 27 seconds tells the user
that PATIENTLINE are taking 49p per minute at peak times and only 39p
per minute off peak WHOOPEE. It then takes the system another 43
seconds to mispronounce the patients name and tell you to ‘phone the
helpline if this is not the person you wish to speak to, etc. etc.
Next, the tone of, “…this is a private phone system…” indicates an
underlying statement of, “So, we can charge as much as we like.”
And on, using the excuse of, “…English as second language or have
communication difficulties.” is such a weak excuse that shows further
contempt for their customers. Language or communication problems should
have their own helpline.
I feel that PATIENTLINE must be linked to the dodgy PREMIUM RATE
numbers that rip off people everyday.
With all the technology available today, PATIENTLINE could offer to
start charging only when connected to the patient or their answer
‘phone. If they kept their excessive charges at least it was being paid
to speak to a loved one, rather than a time-waster message.
That’s it I’ve had my rant let’s hope people pressure will resolve
this matter.
just to fill u in on the incorrect details u give its 10p a min ougoing 49p incoming and no charge for head fones if u dnt like it dont use it simple ive used it i like it its handy and passes the time stop moaning
just to fill u in on wrong details 10p outgoing 49p incoming no charge for headfones if u dnt like it dnt use it simply it helped pass the time stop moaning for god sake
Getting back to charging for headphones, this charge was introduced because the same headphones were used by patient after patient with only the sponges being changed when a patient asked for them.
Health and safety concerns brought about by infection worries it was then decided that each patient should have a new set, which is fully understandable with MRSA and various other infections.
As everyone knows Patientline is in a lot of debt and cant afford to just hand them out.
Whilst I understand peoples anger at the call charges I think people forget patientline is a business which has a lot of out-goings money wise and have yet to make a profit.
I find the tv charges reasonable compared to renting a DVD or anything else and people should stop moaning, if you really don’t like it then don’t use it.
The reason people are so angry is because the hospitals have removed payphones in many cases and so people are forced to use this overpriced ripoff service. Saying if you don\’t like it don\’t use it -that\’s a pretty damn selfish attitude.
Also it appears that there really is very little reason for preventing people from using mobile phones in hospital – but maybe that would be the wrong sort of \’competiton\’?
its not selfish atall and the amount of hospitals ive been in i see payphones everey where i knoq for a fact that atient line havnt banned payphones ill tell you another thing patient line is cheaper then any other bed side unit supplier in england go on look it up there not the only company out here u all need to get a life seriously find some thing else to do and show some respect for the staff there just doing there job for god sake they do there best to help u people out makes me furious when ppl pik on staff
Who’s picking on the staff? It’s the managers and the British government that are the problem.
Patientline is bad for patients, it preys on the old, poor and seriously ill.