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82.148.47.107 (talk) 14:54, 26 November 2014 (UTC) Ian Freeman, Head of Corporate Marketing, Hospedia.[reply]

In line with Wikipedia's aims, we would like to edit some of the 'personal reflections' highlighted in our page and include additional factual information from third party sources such as the Daily Telegraph and HEFMA to adapt the page into a more encyclopedic style which accurately reflects our business. The sections on public opinion and criticism we would leave the same. Where we have added additional sources, those are listed.

We would propose the opening line to read:

Hospedia Ltd is a leading operator of point of care software and services in healthcare, covering 70,000 beds in over 155 UK hospitals. Initially a provider of patient media and entertainment services, the company has now expanded its offering considerably to deliver patient engagement services such as real-time patient feedback and clinical workflow [1]

We would propose bringing the History section up to date as:

History[edit]

Hospedia Ltd is a Private Limited Company with Share Capital. Hospedia acquired Patientline (incorporated July 30, 1993) during July 2008[1] after Patientline entered administration. Hospedia then looked to acquire Patientline's main competitor, Premier Telesolutions, which would have given Hospedia responsibility for over 80,000 bedside television units. The proposed acquisition was referred to the Office of Fair Trading in 2008.[2][3]On 30 October 2008, the Competition Commission announced that it had cancelled its inquiry into the anticipated acquisition. [2]

In August 2010 Hospedia Ltd was acquired from Hospedia Holdings Ltd by Marlin Equity Partners,[4][5] Tim Weil, Hospedia’s CEO, remarked: "Marlin’s significant capital base and shared vision for upgrading our installed base of over 65,000 terminals with our latest generation technology will enable Hospedia to provide a better service to patients and simultaneously provide hospitals with a means to significantly improve efficiency and reduce costs".

Since the acquisition of Patientline, Hospedia have launched a number of solutions designed to help hospitals make the most of strategic IT programmes, clinical improvement initiatives and patient experience ambitions.

Patient Media is delivered through the Hospedia bedside system. A variety of entertainment packages are available depending on a patient’s length of stay and whether they wish to have access to films on demand, games and internet. Registering on the bedside system allows patients to make free unlimited outgoing calls to landlines.

Patient Engagement services range from patient feedback and educational materials to electronic meal ordering. Clinical Workflows benefit clinical staff and hospital management. Patient Flow Management supports clinical best practice; monitoring patient flow and bed availability in real time and helping to reduce length of stay. Clinical Access puts clinical IT at the heart of the patient environment, promoting paperless initiatives and reducing workload.

Partnerships

JAOtech

In 2010 JAOtech based in Redhill, Surrey gained a contract with Hospedia, to renew bedside terminals across their entire estate in the UK. The promise of the new Zivo® system called T3 by Hospedia proposes to radically change the way patients and staff interact with the existing infrastructure and deliver clinical applications as well as patient entertainment. The contract worth $3.25 million over twelve months, was crucial to the first phase of a Hospedia restructure.[11] Warren Kressinger-Dunn, CEO of JAOtech, commented: "JAOtech terminals give Hospedia a state-of-the-art front end for the world's largest estate of patient bedside entertainment units. Our terminals are based on the latest screen and processor technologies to provide patients with an outstanding multimedia experience, but at the same time meet the very exacting hygiene and noise demands of the hospital ward environment”. In September 2011 JAOtech& Hospedia had installed 6,500 new bedside terminals across the UK, this number was far lower than the expected number that were to have renewed contracts replacing the old T1 and T2 systems.[12] By July 2012 the number of new units installed had increased by a further 8,500, with the total in excess of 15,000.[13] JAOtech was acquired by Barco NV in 2011.[14]

GE Capital

In November 2011, Hospedia announced that it had entered another partnership to secure funding for the continuing installation of the new systems with GE Capital.[15]

Extramed

In a move designed to transform itself into a healthcare IT specialist, Hospedia announced its acquisition of Edinburgh-based Extramed in July 2012. [3]

The Industry [edit]

In 2000, the UK Government published its Patient Power Initiative as part of The NHS Plan. The aim was to embrace the digital age by providing telephone services and a TV at the bedside. The NHS Plan stated: “It is no longer acceptable for patients to have to wait for a nurse to wheel a trolley to their bed or have to stand in a draughty corridor if they want to make a call.” The stated aim was to make televisions and telephones available at the bedside in every major hospital by 2004. [4]

The Government awarded National Licences and Provisional Licences to just a few companies, giving them the right to negotiate with NHS Trusts for the installation of these systems. The requirement was for systems to be installed at no cost to the NHS Trust. The Government imposed restrictions on pricing, including a cap on the cost of outgoing local and national call charges at no more than 10p per minute and the requirement to offer free television to some patients.[5]

Public opinion[edit]

Public opinion has been critical of both Patientline and Hospedia, as many[18][19] feel that charging the sick and vulnerable to access television in hospital is unacceptable. The cost of the bedside services has dramatically increased recently, with prices now up to £10 for 24 hours. This service currently includes standard Freeview channels, on-demand films and TV, games, the Internet and radio.[20] The main complaint is that the 24 hours runs even when the television is switched off. Call charges remain at the rate of 49p/minute for incoming calls to the units, however free outbound calls to landlines are available regardless of whether a television package is purchased. Free TV is available in the mornings, and free radio is available 24 hours a day.

In 2010 the company featured on the BBC's consumer affairs programme Watchdog[21] which portrayed the company in "favourable" light, neither negative or positive.

The major criticism that most patients seem to have is that cards purchased from Hospedia card machines are non-refundable; the company state that if the patient pays by credit/debit card, any unused credit is refunded. However, getting such a refund has proven to be time-consuming in practice, requiring the ward, bay and bed numbers to be known.[22]

The Customer Care Team telephone number is 0345-414-1234.

In February 2010, the then head of the Patients Association Michael Summers said "This is a tax on the ill. They are a captive audience and many patients simply can’t afford these prices".[23]

The system has been described as misleading and also difficult for the elderly and patients with critical injuries to use, as they are not able to make use of the touch screen on the newer system that is being installed. This has angered relatives who wish to use the television to bring some familiarity and stimulation to patients when in hospital.[24]

In 2009 there were also complaints about a lack of “on site” support for operational problems with bedside units, and this was especially the case out of regular working hours when Hospedia relied on its call centre to resolve issues. It was recognised that this approach did not always meet patients' needs.[25]

Public opinion has never been favourable towards the charging of television services in hospital.[26] When the Government introduced PPI in 2000, they were committed to providing every patient in the NHS with bedside television and telephone services. As all the systems and units were installed at no cost to the NHS ,the providers of these services, Patientline, Hospicom now HTS and The Wandsworth Group were to recover their costs by charging patients and also hospitals using them for medical services. The demand, however, was a lot lower than anticipated.

The Patient Power review group has expressed its concerns about the increasing costs of the bedside services and has become the most vocal of groups[27]challenging the use of these terminals at a cost to patients. The group has launched a number of protests against the charges and Hospedia issued a statement[28]in February 2011 to explain that they supported a reduction in both the cost of telephone calls and the use of non-geographic numbers, which had been assigned back in 2000, and were hopeful that these measures would assist in lowering the cost of such calls.

Hospedia state that according to their polls, they have a 78% satisfaction rate, these statistics have been said to be a little misleading as this does not refer to the whole patient population but only to users of the system. This according to some groups does not reflect a true representation of customer satisfaction and views of the bedside units and according to Which? who surveyed 1,520 people recently said that 61% felt that it was "very poor value for money" the people surveyed were not exclusive users but a cross section of a hospital population. More recently a Picker Institute White[33] powered by Hospedia and using NHS staff and volunteers piloted a bedside questionnaire with regarding patients satisfaction during a hospital stay, this scheme was piloted at Salford Royal Hospital and helped with feeding back an 85% satisfaction rate, with regard to a patients hospital stay and experience, not to usage of the bedside television. Staff and volunteers did not help patients in completing a Hospedia satisfaction questionnaire as this was not part of the hospital and Picker pilot.[34]

Taxpayer funding[edit]

Recent returns for the Department of Health indicate many trusts are paying for outdated systems to be updated, even where there are a number of years remaining on the original contracts.

Examples: 2010 return shows a payment of £70,450.65 from Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust.[29]

2011 return shows a payment of £47,692.00 from Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust.[30]

2013 return shows a payment of £69,504.00 from The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust.[31]

Anger has been expressed recently as patients feel the taxpayer is paying twice, once for the equipment to be installed and then again to view it.[22]

Hospital Radio[edit]

Hospedia has continued to provide Hospital Radio for free and this enables the Hospital to reach patients via their stations on the bedside units. The Hospital stations are to be found on channel 1 on the system which also includes the facility to contact the station via the telephone on the unit.

Criticism[edit]

In 2012 The Sunday Mirror covered increase of charges, with reporter Nick Owens stating that the cost of Hospital Television was £9 per day more expensive than what criminals in prison have to pay.[36]

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley MP featured on a video on the system which came under criticism.[37][38]Former Labour Health Secretary Alan Milburn joked on BBC Daily Politics that Mr Lansley "wants to prevent people getting into hospital - what a deterrent - and he wants to get them out quickly - what an incentive".

82.148.47.107 (talk) 14:54, 26 November 2014 (UTC) Ian Freeman, Head of Corporate Marketing, Hospedia[reply]

References

  1. ^ http://www.hospedia.co.uk/corporate-section.html
  2. ^ http://uk.practicallaw.com/4-383-8297?source=relatedcontent
  3. ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/supportservices/9401714/Hospedias-first-buy-is-Extramed.html
  4. ^ http://www.hefma.co.uk/the-hefma-pulse/item/the-digital-age
  5. ^ http://www.hefma.co.uk/the-hefma-pulse/item/the-digital-age

public opinion

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Criticism may be based on the mistaken view that the NHS is charging patients for television and/or that such provision can somehow be made free of charge. In at least one NHS hospital, Hospedia provides radio (not just the hospital's own station) free of charge. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 5.67.198.219 (talk) 14:33, 11 May 2015 (UTC)[reply]

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