A patient is trying to start a revolution from her hospital bed to help people who cannot afford ‘rip off TV fees’ whilst they are stricken.

Rebeka O’Connor has been in hospital for more than 80 days and is still there, but to watch television she’s paid £200 so far.

Despite the expense, she has been helping other patients on her ward at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, who are less able to afford the £5 daily charge.

Rebeka O’Connor is leading a campaign to make hospital TV cheaper from her hospital bed (Picture: Supplied)

The TVs are operated by private company Premier Telesolutions and Rebeka is distraught seeing so many patients unable to afford the fee.


She said: ‘It is so upsetting seeing so many elderly and lonely people who cannot afford to watch a bit of TV.

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‘I’ve been in hospital for over 80 days this year and there was a time that I could not afford the TV and it was so boring and lonely.



‘I’ve ended up paying over £200 for television and it is galling to know the hospital does not even see any of the profits, it is just wrong that people are being ripped off when they are at their lowest and most vulnerable, in a hospital bed.

‘With the extortionate price of parking at hospitals there are patients whose family and friends can’t afford to visit them, it just seems wrong in so many ways.

The Premier Telesolutions vending machine is broken forcing patients to fork out more money (Picture: Supplied)

‘I have cried so much for people in here and want to start fundraising so televisions can be put in association rooms, and I when I am better I will campaign to stop patients being ripped off, there needs to be a revolution.’

She added: ‘The vending machines where patients can buy £5 TV vouchers are always broken but the minimum amount you can pay for on the television is £10, which is another way to get more money out of people.

The 39-year-old from Great Barr has had ‘the year from hell’ after being admitted to hospital with stomach cramps only to catch an infection which saw her confided to bed for 46 days at the start of the year. However, after being released she is now back in hospital after an MRI scan detected yet more problems.

‘I have been in hospital for 41 days now with an infection in my bones, my life has been ruined to be honest, but would feel so much better if I could help those around me,’ she says.

‘And if my campaign could make someone high up in government to pay for free TV then millions of patients every year would have their hospital experience improved.’

Rebeka O’Connor’s bedside entertainment system which often she cannot afford to watch (Picture: Supplied)

‘It breaks my heart and I’ve cried so much over these patients, if I was strong enough I’d go round and talk to them all but I’m too sick and my immune systems too low but I’m going to work on making people aware about the extortionate prices for hospital TV and parking.

‘I’ve spent all this time in here and I don’t want it to be for no reason, I need to make a difference because it is no wonder so many people are giving up in here.



‘The communal rooms are just so depressing, if there were TVs in those we could all watch programs together.’

Rebeka’s MP Khalid Mahmood backed her campaign and branded the TV fees ‘another tax on the poor’.

He said: ‘This is just another example of how the poorest people in society are being forced to pay over the odds for something they should not even have to pay for.

‘We have seen this before with parking charges on hospital car parks which prevents visitors seeing their loved ones when they need to see them the most.

Rebeka has to load cash onto this Premier Telesolutions card to watch TV and movies (Picture: Supplied)

Rebeka O’Connor described the communal rooms as ‘depressing’ at Birmingham’s QE Hospital

‘The NHS happily rents out equipment to unscrupulous profiteering companies who are charging patients huge fees.

‘Also the wifi is never good enough in hospitals for people to stream their own entertainment.’

He added: ‘I totally back Rebeka’s campaign to scrap these TV fees, for those who cannot afford to watch TV in hospital they become even more isolated and less informed. This type of thing really hits the elderly hard too.’

Queen Elizabeth Hospital told Metro.co.uk: ‘Premier Telesolutions is a private company which made the investment to install the bedside equipment, something which the hospital could not afford to do, and therefore had the right to set the prices.

‘The hospital has recently installed wi-fi which patients can use to watch entertainment on their phones and tablets.’

Khalid Mahmood MP is backing Rebeka’s campaign to scrap hospital TV fees (Picture: Rex)

Premier Telesolutions has not responded to requests for comment.

However, the Gloucestershire firm’s website, said: ‘Over the past two decades Premier Telesolutions has worked hard to develop a range of technologically advanced products and services.


‘We are confident that we can meet the unique requirements of the majority of healthcare environments.

‘Our products have been designed to help combat infection by reducing the use of communal TVs and phone units and include special features to ensure easy cleaning.’

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