Via socials:
Nova Scotia Health announced Wednesday that inpatient bedside phone service at its facilities will be phased out by the service provider beginning May 31, with dates varying by site. The health authority is asking patients to bring a personal device and charger to stay connected during their hospital stay.
The service has historically been operated by Hospitality Network, a Canadian vendor supplying bedside terminals to more than 200 hospitals nationwide.
Nova Scotia is not alone. Hamilton Health Sciences in Ontario ended its contract with the same type of vendor on June 30, 2025, removing bedside TVs and pointing patients to hospital Wi-Fi and personal devices.
The post drew immediate backlash in the comments. “Is there any plan in place for individuals who do not have a personal device?” one commenter asked.
Several commenters raised concerns about elderly patients. “When my late husband was in the hospital, there’s no way he could have dealt with a cellphone,” one wrote. “Even a regular phone was a problem for him, but I could call him and we could talk three times a day when I couldn’t get in to see him.”
Others worried about staff workload. “Not everyone has a cell phone, there should be a phone available in patient room so they can stay in contact with family,” one commenter wrote. “This will be an extra work effort on the Nurses station fielding calls.”
Nova Scotia Health did not address in the post what alternatives, if any, will be available for patients without personal devices.
Haligonia is not a media outlet, and we do not employ journalists. While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, this post is for informational purposes only. This post was aided using AI tools.
