Hospitals to end phone ban
Patients and visitors at Black Country hospitals may no longer have to pay costly charges for using the phone, with the use of mobiles set to be sanctioned in some wards.
The news comes a month after telephone provider Patientline increased charges by 160 per cent for patients ringing loved ones from their hospital beds.
The firm, which charges people to make phonecalls and watch TV, raised its basic call charge from 10p to 26p per minute, leaving patient groups and staff outraged.
Bosses at New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton have now decided to allow the use of mobile phones following a Government report suggesting they do not interfere with medical equipment in wards.
Previously mobiles could only be used in corridors at New Cross. The Dudley Group of Hospitals is also debating whether to lift bans on mobile phones, while Mid-Staffordshire General Hospitals Trust is also planning to extend the number of areas where mobiles can be used.
People at Walsall Manor Hospital are free to use their phones in all communal areas, but wards where sensitive equipment is used are still out-of-bounds.
