NHS Patients Shouldn’t Pay for Hospital Entertainment

Why Do Patients Have to Pay for Entertainment?

To properly answer this question, we need to go back in time. Over 20 years ago, Patientline, the founding company of the Bedside Units, invested £150,000,000, at its own cost, worth of infrastructure into the NHS. This equated to the installation of 56,500 bedside units across 160 hospitals, making them the key supplier of bedside terminals to 75% of the UK's acute hospitals. 

Trusts and health boards were not required to cover the costs of the Bedside Units as per the initial contracts with Patientline, which resulted in patients having to pay for their usage to keep the service running and the staff supporting it. This patient pays model still stands today. It supports the maintenance of the units which covers 24/7/365 support, health and safety checks, replacement of parts and the engineers that repair the units. With the constant development of what new technology is capable of, these 50k+ units are steadily becoming outdated and outmoded. Nowadays, they’re comparable to a basic service rather than the high-quality experience patients deserve. 

When SPARK® TSL’s parent company acquired Hospedia, we set out our vision to provide free entertainment to patients. We would love to remove the patient pays model overnight, but if we did this with no alternative funding, hundreds of thousands of patients would not have access to basic entertainment such as TV. 

We want to work with the NHS and their charities to allow patient entertainment to be free on the current bedside units. Else they can modernise these old units and upgrade to SPARK® Fusion.

Why Doesn't the NHS Invest in Patient Engagement Resources? 

The NHS is brilliant in investing in the latest healthcare technology to speed up diagnostics and deliver more effective treatment. However, patients are more than just machines that need to be fixed. They require emotional and social stimulation too. This includes having access to information about their care and having the power to be involved in healthcare decisions. These can be put under the blanket of Patient Engagement.

The World Health Organisation stated that:

"Engaged patients are better able to make informed decisions about their care options" and "are more likely to feel confident to report both positive and negative experiences and have increased concordance with mutually agreed care management plans. This not only improves health outcomes, but also advances learning and improvement, while reducing adverse events."

Patient Engagement: Technical Series on Safer Primary Care.

Overall, patient engagement is a win-win for both patients and the healthcare system. It can lead to better health outcomes, lower costs, and a more positive healthcare experience for everyone. 

So why don't the NHS invest in patient entertainment and engagement?

What's The Solution?

SPARK Fusion, the is complete end-to-end infotainment solution that supports both patients, staff and NHS Hospitals. Integrated with HL7, nurse call and meal ordering, SPARK Fusion reduces bed blocking and readmission rates whilst entertaining and educating the patient at every stage of their healthcare journey.

Thanks to Hospedia, the managed infrastructure for this transformation is already there. This means no additional cost has to arise from upgrading these units to support this new system. The powerful software of SPARK Fusion is housed in an iPad, mounted to the bedside, used by staff or leant to patients during their stay.

Some of the key benefits include:

• Better informed patients
• Reduced bed blocking
• Reduced readmissions
• Improved feedback scores

This solution is already proven in 30% of hospitals in the Netherlands.

Make Patient Entertainment Free

SPARK® TSL's vision is to make all patient entertainment free, but we can't do it without the help from NHS Trusts. That's why present SPARK Fusion, the solution which will stimulatingly remove the patient pays model, provide ROI for the Trust and relieve staff pressures. 

Help make our vision a reality.