Agenda item

Notice of Motion given by Councillor Pauline Andrews

That this Council:-

 

(a)       expresses concern at what this Council believes to be the excessive charges being put on vulnerable patients in hospitals by private companies, such as (i) average car parking charges of £2.50 per hour, (ii) bedside television charges of £10.00 per day for the full package including films, internet and phone, or £5.00 per day minimum for just television, (iii) the cost of an incoming call of 50p per min BT line, and (iv) cashpoint fee of £2.00;

 

(b)       believes it's unethical for these companies to make huge profits by preying on the sick and dying;

 

(c)        further believes that Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust doesn't make any money from this system;

 

(d)       notes that the NHS health care service is supposedly free at the point of use, however, believes that the extra charges to access the service are far from healthy;

 

(e)       believes it is not acceptable that some patients are paying £10.00 per day to view a television, whilst inmates in Doncaster prison pay just £1.00 for an entire week’s worth of viewing; and

 

(f)        requests that the Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care writes to the Secretary of State for Health to demand an end to excessive charges for these services, which this Council believes are outrageous, especially for patients at the end of life.

 

Minutes:

 

Charges To Access Services In Hospitals

 

 

20.1

At the request of Councillor Pauline Andrews and with the consent of the Council, the Notice of Motion Numbered 18 on the Summons for this meeting was withdrawn in accordance with Council Procedure Rules 11(x) and 17.10.