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Anyone who has spent a few days in a hospital bed knows it doesn't take long for boredom to set in.

However, those hoping to kill some time as well as a much-needed distraction from the reason they're in the hospital, won't have any luck logging onto Netflix.

Interior Health's free WiFi blocks the popular streaming service.

So while roughly 18 million Canadians have a Netflix account, anyone admitted to an Interior Health hospital will find the service doesn't work on their device.

One current hospital patient said they were glad they'd downloaded a variety of TV shows and movies prior to being admitted so at least they had something to watch.

So why does Interior Health block the popular streaming service?

"Interior Health’s current Wi-Fi service, GuestInternet, has technical limitations that prevent the use of Netflix or other streaming media due to their impact on our ability to guarantee the delivery of clinical and business applications within our sites," Interior Health told iNFOnews.ca in an email.

While a limited selection of Interior Health hospital rooms do have televisions, patients have to pay to watch.

Interior Health said different groups including auxiliaries and hospital foundations manage the service and set different prices.

However, the limited service is coming to an end.

"When the televisions malfunction, they are no longer being replaced by the contractor who is moving out of the business of supplying televisions in hospitals," Interior Health said.

While current hospital patients won't be able to stream their favourite show this may change in the future.

"We are currently evaluating a new (WiFi) service that does support streaming media without impacting the necessary clinical and business applications," Interior Health said.

For the time being, anyone who's scheduled for a few days in a hospital bed would be well advised to download their favourite shows first.

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