THE cost of Great Western Hospital’s bedside phone and television services will be among those reviewed by the Government amid calls to curb “extortionate” prices.

Health Minister Simon Burns said the Government would be “looking into” the issue following concerns expressed over a number of years.

He made the pledge after Harlow MP Robert Halfon called for a crackdown on the “highly-priced” services.

Bedside phone and television services are provided in hospitals by third-party firms, with incoming calls charged as highly as 49p per minute and television costing as much as £5 per day.

At Great Western Hospital packages provided by bedside media company Hospedia, range from £2.50 for two hours to £20 for 12 days.

Patients are also given half an hour of free television when they register for one of the packages.

Calls to mobiles cost 25p per minute and free calls can be made to landlines when patients purchase any package.

Mark Bagnall, director of estates and facilities at GWH, said while funding did not allow the hospital to give the services for free, GWH strives to keep costs low.

“Patients tell us that they want easy access to TVs and phones whilst staying in hospital and we work with Hospedia to provide our patients with these services if they wish to use them,” he said.

“Unfortunately because of the investment required to install this type of technology hospitals can’t provide them completely free of charge.

“However, we regularly meet with the company to keep costs under review and are always encouraging any opportunity to reduce the costs to patients.”

A spokeswoman for Hospedia, said: “These packages have so far received an overwhelmingly positive response from patients with over 70 per cent rating them as good/very good in terms of value for money.

“The significant use increases demonstrated by the trials show that patients see this as a welcome change, allowing them to talk for as long as they like to friends, family and loved ones as well as buying TV in the way they want to use it.”

During Commons question time on Tuesday, Mr Burns acknowledged that the cost of these hospital services was an issue "of concern to many people" and he promised to examine the situation.

He said: “Whilst I can’t promise the outcome of any review, you do have my assurance that we will be looking into it and we do take on board the concerns that have been expressed over a number of years.”

The previous government urged NHS trusts to relax the rules on mobile phones to help combat the monopoly on bedside services.

Jo Osorio of Swindon Local Involvement Network (Link) said: “We’re greatly encouraged when the Government acts on the concerns of patients in hospital.

“For this reason we would always urge people to come and talk to Swindon Link if they have a healthcare concern they believe needs addressing.”