King's launches new entertainment system for patients

Patients, visitors and staff can access TV, magazines, games and more...

Patient entertainment service screenshot

King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has launched a new patient entertainment system, funded by King's College Hospital Charity.

The system is available to all patients, visitors and staff and provides access to live TV, magazines, games, and more, via any internet enabled device.

It is accessed via the Trust's free NHS Wi-Fi only. Inpatients without a device can borrow tablets on our wards.

The new system replaces the old bedside TV entertainment systems, and supports the Trust's efforts to provide outstanding care for patients by improving their experience of staying in and visiting hospital.

Patients will be able to access the following*:

  • live TV on BBC One, BBC Two, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel Five
  • a variety of children's channels, including CBeebies and CBBC
  • a range of radio stations including links to a variety of international stations
  • a selection of digitised magazines from the last month including BBC Top Gear, Cosmopolitan, OK!, Beano, National Geographic and many more
  • information about our hospitals, King's College Hospital Charity, and our events and donation page to stay up-to-date with our hospital activities.

Information for patients - including instructions for how to access the system - is available on wards, and the Trust website. Volunteers and staff will also be able to help inpatients with questions about the system.

Professor Nicola Ranger, Chief Nurse and Executive Director of Midwifery at King's, said:

"This is a really positive development for our patients. Our priority is to provide outstanding care, and a big part of this is making sure our patients' experience of hospital is a positive one - so we are incredibly grateful to our charity for backing this project."

Beverley Bryant, Chief Digital Information Officer at the Trust, said:

"Initiatives such as this help support our efforts to ensure our patients have the best possible experience of care at the Trust. The fact our patients can access the system from their own devices is a big step forward, and helps ensure our digital offer is keeping pace with people's expectations."

Iona Joy, Director, Grants and Insight, King's College Hospital Charity added:

"We're delighted to have been able to support this project as part of our work to improve patient experience at King's. We know that patients can struggle with boredom and anxiety - especially when admitted to hospital for days or weeks at a time, or while waiting for outpatient appointments."

"We hope to help alleviate frustration by providing some entertainment to pass the time and by offering tools to help patients manage anxiety and connect with the world. We are thrilled to be collaborating with the Trust to make this entertainment available for patients, especially those who don't have their own devices already."

*Please note: catch-up TV/on demand services including BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, Netflix, Disney+, Spotify and others will be accessible via the new system but only to those with pre-existing personal subscriptions.

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