Wye Valley NHS Trust has delivered an early present for patients and visitors to its sites across the county with the arrival of free public wifi.

The service is now available at Hereford County Hospital and the community hospitals it runs, including Ross-on-Wye. It will also be available at Bromyard and Leominster.

The Trust switched on the new service – paid for through government funding – this week.

A simple logon process now gives members of the public visiting Trust sites free access to the internet. The free service compliments the service already available through bedside TV units though Hospedia, which means the free wifi cannot be used for video streaming.

“Free wifi has been a question visitors and patients have asked us for frequently in recent years so we’re delighted that the government has provided the funds and we’ve been able to provide this service,” said David Warden, the Trust’s associate director for IT.

“We understand how connected everyone is these days and, particularly in hospital where people want to communicate with relatives and friends, we want to make this as fast and easy as possible.”