NHS bans World Cup video streams

'Get your football off my network'

The NHS is giving football-loving doctors the red card, barring World Cup video and audio streams from its network to make sure they don't clog up its bandwidth and delay the delivery of vital health data.

Users of NHS computers will find that access to video and audio streaming of the World Cup, from broadcasters such as the BBC and TalkSport, will not be available, NHS Connecting for Health (CfH) said.

It said "special measures" are being taken to ensure that information transmitted across the NHS National Network, N3, is not delayed.

This is so that everyday NHS business is not disrupted by sports coverage needing large amounts of internet bandwidth, the agency said. And the blocking of these types of video and audio streaming services is likely to become a permanent measure to ensure the smooth running of the network.

Len Chard, NHS CfH programme manager for N3 said managing access to streamed content at a national level will help ensure "responsible" local use of the internet.

He said in a statement: "Streamed content is of particular concern because of the high levels of bandwidth it demands. Our priority is to ensure N3 is fully available and continues to support the clinical systems and services in the NHS."