Patients at Oxfordshire's hospitals have complained about the price of bedside television which costs £3.50 a day, regardless of how long you watch.

A county-based NHS watchdog group has received numerous complaints about Patientline, the TV, radio, phone, Internet and email provider at Oxford's John Radcliffe Hospital, Churchill Hospital and Radcliffe Infirmary, and The Horton, Banbury.

The privately-run service, which allows patients to enjoy entertainment and access personal phone lines from terminals installed by their beds, has already been criticised for charging external callers premium rates of up to 49p per minute for contacting their loved-ones.

But now the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust Patient and Public Involvement Forum has revealed many people are angry that it costs £3.50 to watch 24 hours of rolling television on the system.

According to a recent Google survey, the average UK resident switches on the box for two hours and 24 minutes a day, meaning the daily Patientline charges could work out at the equivalent of £1.46 an hour.

Jacqui Pearse-Gervis, chairman of the forum, said: "The public has complained to our forum about the high cost of Patientline. We've taken it up with the trust, but unfortunately there's no alternative available.

"The television is the only one accessible to bed-bound patients and it is very expensive. Patientline has many patients over a barrel because they can't watch the day room sets, and you can't use a mobile phone on wards.

"This is a major concern and something we have to tackle, and we've agreed to take part in a Healthcare Commission investigation, which is asking PPIFs across the UK to help them review these systems."

Patientline is one of a number of privately-run bedside entertainment companies which have set up services for free in hospitals as part of a Government initiative.

In a statement, a Patientline spokesman said the television service was free for patients aged under 16, while over 60s and people using the service for more than 14 days paid half-price charges.

She added: "Our fees are charged at this rate because, when we asked for their feedback, this is how three quarters of our patients said they'd like to be billed, giving them better value than they had previously experienced.

"The Patientline system does not replace previous facilities such as corridor payphones and conventional televisions in ward day rooms but provides patients with an additional choice previously not available."

An ORH spokesman said: "Like all NHS hospitals, the ORH is required to provide a bedside telephone and TV system for patients. The trust has continued to provide payphones and televisions in dayrooms for patients."

Ofcom recently completed an investigation into the price of external telephone calls to patientline handsets, which are set at 49p per minute in peak periods and 39p off peak.

As a result, it asked the Department of Health to review bedside entertainment systems, including the cost of television.