A STATE-of-the-art TV, internet and telephone system installed beside beds at the Royal Cornwall Hospital by private contractors has been criticised by patients. The £1 million system was installed at Truro's main hospital by a company called Premier in May at the insistence of the government.

The hospital trust does not have to pay for the cost of the installation but the company makes its money by charging premium rates for incoming calls and renting the television facilities to patients.

But some are complaining that it is wrong to charge up to 49p per minute for families to ring their loved ones to find out how they are and £2.50 for patients to watch television for 24 hours.

A spokesman for the hospital said the system was imposed on them by government and was in response to a national survey of patients who asked for more personal access to communications, the telephone and television.

"In the past patients have had one TV to share between a bay of six but some people don't want to be bothered by TV and there is always the argument over which channel to watch.

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