A hospital TV firm which is refusing to remove charges for England's Euro 2020 final against Italy has been accused of being "greedy".
Hospedia manages TV and phone lines at 130 hospitals across the UK, but has said it will not waive the fee to watch the game on wards tomorrow (Sunday, June 11).
The firm has said TV is free of charge from 8am until 12pm on adult wards every day, but that it needs to charge for some of its service so it can continue to pay staff as well as several significant fixed costs that need to be covered.
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Patients who want to use the optional television services face fees of up to £9.90 for one day of media content, which some can't afford, according to staff.
However, one staff member at a Middlesbrough hospital, in North Yorkshire, has put themselves forward to pay for the fees so that one football fan can witness the historic match from his hospital bed, reports TeessideLive.
The worker at James Cook University Hospital, who wished to remain anonymous said: "Some of the nurses on our ward have rang and asked if they can show the match for free as a one off but we have just had a blatant 'no' every time.
"I have some patients who have been here weeks, with no visitors and simply can't afford to pay to access the TV.
"I've said I'll pay for one of my patients to watch it; it just seems so greedy."
England will face Italy in the final of Euro 2020 on Sunday after beating Denmark in the semi-finals after extra-time.
It will be the first time England have played in the final of a European Championship and it will be England's first tournament final since the 1966 World Cup.
A spokesperson for Hospedia said: "We, of course, want to help and support patients and NHS staff at this challenging time.
"To that end, we have always endeavoured to make our services as affordable and accessible as possible while ensuring the continued viability of the business.
"Hospedia has 170 staff working to support and manage the service. Our dedicated teams maintain, fix, clean and provide customer support more than 55,000 bedside units in 130 hospitals."
The spokesperson continued: "TV is free of charge from 8am till 12pm on adult wards every day, and from 7am till 7pm on children’s wards, every day. Radio is available free of charge too. Patients can also make outbound calls to numbers starting 01, 02 and 03, as well as mobile phones, free of charge, all day, every day.
"However, we need to charge for some of our services so we can continue to pay our staff, many of whom are working inside hospitals on a daily basis.
"There are also several significant fixed costs that need to be covered, including the private network that connects the 55,000 bedside units to TV and internet services."
