Plan for patients to download films

Patients in hospitals around the Black Country and Staffordshire will be able to download movies direct to screens above their beds under new plans announced today.

But the move, which would also offer patients cheaper phone calls, is on hold pending a report on whether the company involved has an unfair monopoly. Hospedia, the company which has bought out struggling hospital telephone and entertainment firm Patientline, is currently waiting to see whether the Office of Fair Trading will allow the merger to go ahead.

The OFT has to ensure that Hospedia would not have an unfair monopoly over the services after it also bought out Patientline's main rival Premier Telesolutions.

In Staffordshire, the services are currently provided to more than 400 beds – 325 in Stafford Hospital and 109 in Cannock Chase Hospital.

It also serves Wolverhampton's New Cross Hospital, Sandwell General Hospital and City Hospital in Birmingham.

The takeover deal by Hospedia would allow the company to bring in new technology.

It would mean that instead of just allowing patients to view the standard terrestrial TV channels, BBC One, BBC Two, ITV1, Channel 4 and Five, they would be able to rent a movie or programme and play it on their screen. It is thought that the service would work in a similar way to the BBC's iPlayer or Channel 4's 4OD, which allow people to temporarily download programmes and films which then delete themselves after the rental period has expired.

The move could also see patients' telephone call costs plummet from 49p per minute to 20p per minute.

Patientline currently runs services to hundreds of beds around the region but is struggling under £85million of debt.

David Brookes, spokesman for the company, said: "It is still going through the Office of Fair Trading and we have to wait for their decision before we can discuss the plans further."