Terms and Conditions
Patientline offers a range of telephone and entertainment facilities at the hospital bedside in line with a contract agreed directly with NHS Trusts.
These terms and conditions set out our service commitment and your rights as a consumer of Patientline’s services – whether a patient, or a friend or relative.
If you have any further enquiries please do not hesitate to contact our consumer relations department at the address below.
Consumer Relations
Patientline UK Ltd
Galloway House
Bankend Road
Dumfries
DG1 4ZZ
E-mail: customer.services@patientline.co.uk
Phone: 0870 212 1234
1. Our commitment to you
We agree to supply:
Telephone (allowing incoming and outgoing calls)
Subject to availability, we agree to supply the facility to make or receive calls at your bedside (if a patient), or to make calls directly to the bedside (if a friend or loved one) during your stay in hospital if deemed appropriate by the NHS Trust or its representatives. Certain numbers such as 0800 and premium rate services may not be accessible via our system.
Callers from international destinations and some network providers may not be able to connect to our service. Where a call is connected the service provider may charge different rates from those advertised by Patientline, which are based on the cost of a call from a BT landline. Callers are advised to check with their local service provider.
Television
Subject to availability, we agree to supply access to a number of television channels during your stay in hospital if deemed appropriate by the NHS Trust or its representatives.
Radio
Subject to availability, we agree to supply access to a number of radio stations (both local and national), during your stay in hospital if deemed appropriate by the NHS Trust or its representatives.
Games
Subject to availability, we agree to supply access to a number of games during your stay in hospital if deemed appropriate by the NHS Trust or its representatives.
Internet & E-mail
Subject to availability, we agree to supply access to internet and e-mail facilities during your stay in hospital if deemed appropriate by the NHS Trust or its representatives.
Patientline reserves the right to remove any of the above services at any time, without prior notification.
2. Your commitment to us
(a) If you move beds during your hospital stay you must inform us by pressing the operator button on the bedside unit and following the relevant instructions. If you do not inform us that you have moved beds then we cannot guarantee that you will be able to make or receive telephone calls, continue to watch accrued TV or that any credit you have stored will not used by other patients.
(b) If you leave hospital you must inform us prior to your time of discharge (by pressing the operator button on the bedside unit and following the relevant instructions). Otherwise we cannot guarantee that any credit you may have stored will not be used by another patient. Upon following the instructions above your name will no longer be visible when you lift the handset.
(c) Verbal or physical abuse of our staff is not tolerated. Under these circumstances, we reserve the right to suspend or halt the service at any time and have no obligation to refund any monies paid.
(d) If your deliberate actions cause damage to either the bedside unit, payphone or any of our other facilities then we reserve the right to suspend or halt the service at any time and to pursue for damages.
(e) Our service must be used responsibly. It must not be used to make calls of an offensive, indecent, menacing, or nuisance nature, nor must content of this nature be viewed using our services. Our services must not be used fraudulently or in connection with a criminal offence. If we reasonably believe that any of the above has occurred we reserve the right to suspend or halt the service at any time and report the matter to the relevant authorities.
3. Starting to use the service
Before starting to use the service, patients are required to register by picking up the telephone handset, pressing the operator button and following the relevant instructions.
(a) Users will need to provide a number of details:
Your name – this enables us to identify you and assign a personal number
Your postcode – this allows us to distinguish between patients who may have similar names
Your age - this is so we can make sure you receive any age related discounts that you may be entitled to
These details will not be used for any other purpose than ensuring delivery of Patientline services – for more details please see our Privacy Policy (point 7).
(b) If you are unhappy with using our services and wish to terminate them you can call us at any time during your hospital stay by lifting the telephone handset and pressing the operator button and they will discharge you from the system. Please note, although unused credit purchased with a credit/debit card can be refunded refunds on cash purchases will only be made if the Patientline card purchased has not been used to pay for any of our services (for more information about our refund policy please see point 5).
(c) Patientline reserves the right to refuse registration if we have reason to suspect that the equipment supplied would not be used as intended. Under these circumstances we are not obliged to give a reason for our decision.
(d) If a patient does not register with us (by lifting the telephone handset, pressing the operator button and following the instructions), prior to using our services then we cannot guarantee that they will be able to make and receive telephone calls and any credit spent will not be accountable to their name.
4. Paying for the service
You can pay for the service by:
(a) Purchasing a choice of denominations of Patientline cards from one of the Patientline vending machines located throughout the hospital or,
(b) Purchasing a choice of denominations of Patientline cards from one of the Patientline Advisors who are based at each hospital where the service operates (local opening times available on request), or,
(c) Uploading credit to the bedside unit by calling Patientline and using one of the credit/debit cards we accept (for a list of those credit/debit cards accepted by Patientline please call press the operator button on your bedside unit or call 0870 212 1234). For security reasons there may be restrictions on the number of transactions you can make in a day. Please note we do not accept any transactions from persons other than the cardholder.
(d) Uploading credit to the bedside by pressing the other services button (T2 units only), selecting our credit/debit purchase option and using one of the credit/debit cards shown. For security reasons there may be restrictions on the number of transactions you can make in a day. Please note we do not accept any transactions from persons other than the cardholder.
(e) For details on our prices please visit our website (www.patientline.co.uk), or contact a member of our site team, or finally pick the telephone handset and press the operator button.
5. Refund policy
If you use cash or cheque to purchase a Patientline card:
(a) Any money left on the card upon discharge from hospital is non-refundable (unless the circumstances are deemed to be exceptional), in which case a written request must be submitted to our Customer Liaison Officer with a full explanation and the original card.
(b) In the event of the card being lost or stolen, we will not refund any money remaining (unless the circumstances are deemed to be exceptional).
(c) In the event of the card being used by another person with or without permission, we will not refund any money that has been used (unless the circumstances are deemed to be exceptional). In these circumstances, the Patientline card is treated as money and is therefore the responsibility of the holder.
(d) In the event of money being lost in a vending machine, as long is this is reported on the same day we will refund within 2 working days subject to our audit identifying unaccounted credit.
If you use your credit card to purchase a Patientline card or to upload credit directly to the bedside unit:
(a) We will refund back onto the original credit card used any unused credit held in your account at the time of processing the refund.
(b) Any requests for refund must be received either via our customer care team or in writing within 28 days of your discharge from hospital.
(c) If you leave hospital you must inform us prior to your time of discharge (by pressing the operator button on the bedside unit and following the relevant instructions). Otherwise we cannot guarantee that any credit you may have stored will not be used by another patient. Under these circumstances we can only refund credit that is left in your account at time of processing the refund.
If the patient you have bought credit for has either been moved to another bed or has been discharged without advising Patientline prior to their time of discharge (by pressing the operator button on the bedside unit and following the relevant instructions), we cannot guarantee that the uploaded credit will not be used by another patient. Under these circumstances we can only refund any credit that is left in the patient’s account at the time of processing the refund.
To request a refund, please contact our customer care team by pressing the operator button on the bedside unit or by calling 0870 212 1234 from a standard telephone line.
Or by writing to:
Consumer Relations
Patientline UK Ltd
Galloway House
Bankend Road
Dumfries
DG1 4ZZ
E-mail: customer.services@patientline.co.uk
Phone: 0870 212 1234
(d) Any refunds will be paid directly to the card used to make the original purchase.
(e) Any refunds made will be paid within 28 working days of Patientline receiving the request.
(d) We will only refund any unused credit that was paid for by using one of the accepted credit/debit cards. We will not refund any free/bonus credits given to the customer.
Moving beds:
(a) If during your hospital stay you move beds and do not inform us by lifting the telephone handset, pressing the operator button and following the instructions we cannot offer you a refund for any credits lost.
(b) If a patient has moved to a ward within the hospital that does not have a working Patientline system we will refund any remaining credit, whether purchased by cash, cheque or credit/debit card. To arrange this ask a member of the nursing team to call the Patientline office and arrange a bedside visit by one of our representatives.
Calling into the hospital:
(c) If you are trying to call a patient who has left hospital and has not advised us that they are doing so prior to their time of discharge then we cannot refund the cost of any telephone calls made to the bedside.
(d) If you are trying to call a patient and they have decided to not to answer the phone, or are on another call, or have diverted calls to answerphone then we cannot refund the cost of telephone calls made to the bedside.
6. Service delivery
We aim to provide a high-quality and continuous service, unfortunately, given the environment in which we work there may be times when our service is unavailable:
(a) During your stay in hospital if you report a fault with the bedside unit that is causing you inconvenience you may be entitled to free credits or a refund. Under these circumstances please contact us by picking up the telephone handset, pressing the operator button and following the instructions.
(b) At times, we may be asked by the NHS Trust or its representatives to either temporarily or permanently suspend the entire, or specific elements of the service. Under these circumstances we cannot offer any form of compensation.
(c) If the fault or failure to provide a service is caused by factors outside of our reasonable control then we cannot accept responsibility. Under these circumstances we will endeavour to re-establish services as quickly as possible.
(d) Hospitals frequently undertake generator tests and during this period we regret that our services will not be available. We will endeavour to inform you as soon as we are made aware of any such planned tests and will undertake to return our units to normal service as quickly as possible after the event.
(f) Occasionally we may have to change your phone number, or to interrupt our services in order to resolve operational issues. Under these circumstances we will endeavour to re-establish services as quickly as possible.
We reserve the right to suspend or halt the service at any time, without prior notification.
7. Privacy policy
(a) Any information you supply to us at the time of registration will not be used for any other purposes other than to identify the patient during their stay.
(b) Calls to us may be recorded for training and quality control purposes.
(c) Patientline undertakes not to supply any patient contact information to any 3rd parties that are external to the hospital (this precludes nursing staff and on-site catering teams), or to conduct any direct marketing using this information.
(d) Should you wish your details not to be disclosed as outlined above please contact our Customer Care Centre by lifting the handset and pressing the operator button and they will make the necessary arrangements.
We will use the information supplied to locate your whereabouts and connect incoming calls to you unless you request confidentiality via our customer care centre, in addition we may from time to time share your details with NHS staff and their onsite service providers where doing so forms part of an agreed NHS policy and operating requirement and complies fully with the Data Protection Act.
8. Content
(e) We endeavour to ensure that customers have access to a wide range of suitable television channels, however we cannot accept responsibility for the tone of content on those channels.
(b) We offer advertising opportunities on our Promotional Channel. We will endeavour to ensure that all advertising placed is suitable for the audiences viewing this channel.
9. Complaints procedure
If you wish to complain about any aspect of Patientline’s services during your stay in hospital please:
(a) Contact a Patientline Advisor at your hospital or,
(b) Please lift the telephone handset and press the operator button to speak to one of our Customer Care Team (available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week)
If you wish to complain about any aspect of Patientline’s services after your hospital stay please:
(a) Write to us at:
Consumer Relations
Patientline UK Ltd
Galloway House
Bankend Road
Dumfries
DG1 4ZZ
E-mail: customer.services@patientline.co.uk
Phone: 0870 212 1234
10. Changes to our service
Sometimes we may need to change our charges, services and/or the terms and conditions of this agreement. We reserve the right to make changes to these at any time. Current customers will be notified of these changes.
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