Health minister John Hutton has defended the use of premium rate bedside telephones in hospitals, calling them "a vital direct link" to the outside world for patients.
In response to a parliamentary question about the use and cost of the service just before the dissolution of parliament at the announcement of the general election, the minister said that patients did not find premium-rate bedside lines prohibitively expensive or inconvenient.
Hutton replied: "Patients in national health service hospitals have requested personal use of a telephone to remain in contact with family and friends. This is provided through the patient power system and over 75,000 beds in NHS trusts have this service."
Citing a survey undertaken at the end of last year by NHS Estates, Hutton claimed that 95% of patients chose to pay premium rates for the service, and that 88% of patients were happy with the service they received.
Asked for guidance and a cost schedule, Hutton pointed out that rates were not set centrally and were down to individual contracts between hospitals and providers of the technology.
"Bedside televisions and telephones are an additional service to patients," said Hutton. "It is still possible for friends and relatives to contact a hospital through its main switchboard and then be transferred to a nurses’ station to enquire about their relative’s health."
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency issued new guidelines last year saying that a ban on laptops and mobile phones was "not required, and impossible to enforce effectively", although such communication devices should still be kept to designated areas and away from life-support equipment.
The health spokesman for the Liberal Democrats, Paul Burstow, who put the question to Hutton, told E-Health Insider that he was unhappy with the minister’s reply.
"The Government still has not explained what guidelines they issue to the NHS on the use of premium rate lines," he said. "I think many people will feel insulted by John Hutton’s suggestion that being able to speak to a loved one on the phone in hospital is a luxury."