Instead, most patients still have to rely on expensive outsourced bedside TV/Internet/Phone systems that have long been recognised as cost prohibitive for patients, often costing £10 or more a day.
As a result, many patients can feel disconnected from family and friends during their recuperative period.
Harley Street psychotherapist, Jennifer Dew MSc Psych, Dip Psch (couns), MBACP (accred) argues that patients who can regularly access family and friends using personal devices while they recuperate suffer less from isolation and loneliness and are more likely to make a speedier recovery.
As government budgets are being squeezed further, NHS Trusts are being urged to reduce patients’ Length of Stay (LoS) to save money. According to the Department of Health, the average day bed cost in the UK is £400.
Mark Pearce, strategic alliance director at Enterasys Networks said: “There are so many ways that WiFi can be used to benefit patients as well as staff in the healthcare sector, yet it’s one of the slowest to seize the opportunity that BYOD offers. The public has a growing appetite to be connected, and the technology is there to make it happen securely, safely and reliably.”