PATIENTS at Kendal's Westmorland General Hospital have become the latest to experience a new bedside television and telephone service, writes Health Reporter Michaela Robinson-Tate.

The Patientline project went live at the hospital this week, and patients now have access to bedside TV, free radio including the hospital's own radio channel and their own personal telephone number and answer machine.

The system means that patients can choose what they want to listen to or watch using their own headset, without disturbing others.

Morecambe Bay Hospitals NHS Trust chief executive Ian Cumming said: " I am delighted that our patients will be able to have access to these services. I know that a stay in hospital can make patients feel anxious.

"The Patientline system will provide a convenient and easy way to stay in touch with family and friends and to also be entertained."

It is hoped that the service will also mean that nurses will spend less time on non-critical work, such as taking telephone messages for patients, or wheeling a portable payphone to patients' beds. Trust bosses said that surveys had shown the Patientline system could mean nurses answer up to 100 fewer calls per day on a typical ward.

The Patientline company meets the installation costs of the service and manages the system. There are costs for using Patientline, and details are provided to patients when they are admitted to hospital.