“My name is Rosita Rochina, I am 94 years old and I have been hospitalized for more than three months.” This is how a woman who has started a petition on Change.org to demand free television in hospitals throughout Spain introduces herself.
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“When you are hospitalized, watching TV or simply listening to it distracts you a lot and keeps you company. For example, I like game shows like Pasapalabra or La Caja, the news, old movies, celebrity gossip… But you have to pay to watch TV,” explains Rosita.
The 94-year-old Catalan laments that not everyone can afford it and that many hours are spent in the hospital without seeing anyone. That is why she asks the Ministry of Health to remedy loneliness in a petition that already has more than 20,000 signatories.
The World Cup final could be watched for free in Madrid hospitals
In her case, she says, she is “luckily” well accompanied, but she does not forget how other patients might be. “My son comes to see me every day. But I think a lot about people who are very lonely and spend hours and hours without seeing anyone. I have had roommates who wanted the TV on day and night because simply having a background voice gave them peace,” Rosita expresses.
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Rosita’s proposal is inspired by another petition, Lola Martín’s, which succeeded in having the World Cup final shown for free in public hospitals in Madrid. “It was a great step forward, yes. But it is not enough,” admits the hospitalized woman. In this way, she encourages that Lola’s success not be an isolated case: “If we take action, we can change things and make ourselves heard.”
Currently, turning on the television is free in the autonomous communities of the Valencian Community and Castilla-La Mancha. In the rest of the territory where television is paid, the daily price ranges between 2 and 6 euros.
