Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the annual cost is for using Hospedia for patients in each NHS trust in England; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a national policy on the use of television in hospital.

No data is collected centrally on the annual cost for using Hospedia or the provision of bedside television and similar services by the National Health Service.

NHS providers are locally responsible for the provision of bedside television and similar services, including the charges for them. If patients do not wish to, or are unable to afford the cost of the bedside television, they should still be able to watch the free to view television via their own devices and local hospital Wi-Fi, or in the hospital day rooms or communal areas.