FAMILIES of patients in Basildon Hospital are demanding their loved ones get free access to television, as the country battles coronavirus.

Furious relatives say patients cannot afford the costs of the service, have no contact with the outside world and have nothing else to be do and charges must be scrapped.

But bosses at the hospitals say costs have been reduced.

Haley Nunn, 28, from Grays has been pressuring Basildon Hospital for cuts to the TV costs, but with no luck.

She said: “My grandfather Roy Nun, who is 86, is currently in Basildon Hospital after suffering a stroke. He had the stroke and was admitted before the Covid-19 crisis began and is still in hospital.

“Due to Covid-19 safety measures there are no visitors allowed to the hospital, which is understandable, but my granddad doesn’t have a mobile phone or tablet to watch anything nor could he use one as he has lost a lot of his vision and control of his hands after the stroke.

“Currently the price for TV in hospital is £9 per day and is free until noon.

“I think that during this time it should be free for every patient.

“There are a lot of people on their own who cannot afford the price or are not able to go top up the television payment card at the machines such as kids, the bedbound and elderly. “

She contacted the firm that provides the bedside TV services not for just Basildon Hospital but for over 130 NHS hospitals in the UK but has had no response.

The angry granddaughter said her relative has not had much access to the television or news so didn’t fully understand why his loving family cannot visit, why he can’t leave or much about Coronavirus.

She said: “It must be very upsetting to be cut off from all family and have no type of stimulation during the day. Not just for my grandfather but for all the other patients.

“Basic freeview channels should be available for free or at least channels one to five so they can keep in touch with what is happening outside the hospital and have some form of mental stimulation.”

A spokesman for Basildon hospital spokesman said: “The hospital entertainment system is operated by an external provider – Hospedia. They are now offering channels 1-5, including Freeview channels, to patients at £1 per day per bed.”