Patients and staff at Staffordshire’s two largest hospitals are able to access a range of free media services thanks to charity funding.
UHNM Charity is offering a package of its SPARK entertainment platform across University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust (UHNM) at no cost to users.
It means that anyone who works at or has to stay in Royal Stoke or County Hospital, Stafford, with access to a smartphone or tablet will be able to watch 35 television channels, browse digital newspapers and magazines, listen to radio and play games.
Using free Wi-Fi, they will also be able to connect to online UHNM Charity sites and view in-house content which is hoped will encourage donations towards the charity’s work.
Lisa Thomson, Director of Communications and Charity at said: “Thanks to our incredible supporters we’re delighted that this exciting service is now available for our patients and staff. We know that being in hospital is tough time for many patients, so we want to do something that will help keep them entertained whilst in our care and for them to able to access information that might be useful to them even after they are discharged.”
“With visiting still limited due to the covid-19 pandemic, we hope that keeping people occupied will help improve their comfort and experience and they will also be able to use our free WiFi to contact family and friends so that might make things a little easier.”
The service is provided by wireless solution provider Wifi SPARK.
Steve Rushton, UHNM Charity Manager added: “It’s thanks to UHNM Charity funding that UHNM was the first hospital Trust to make free Wi-Fi available for patients and staff. We have developed this platform to enable our patients to access more entertainment on their own device at no cost at all. This new service is also of great benefit to our staff who are able to enjoy well-earned free entertainment whilst on their breaks.”
Anybody wishing to access the service should select ‘NHS Wi-Fi’ on their device and log in using on-screen prompts.
For more information contact UHNM Charity on 01782 676444 or email charity@uhnm.nhs.uk.
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