FAMILIES are being hit with “rip off” 50p call charges to speak to loved ones in hospital.
Private firm Hospedia, which supplies hospital TV and phone systems, raked in £21.2 million last year.
It profits from making worried relatives call costly 070 numbers to reach patients at their bedside.
Charges vary across hospitals, but can reach up to 50p a minute.
And callers are also forced to listen to a lengthy recorded message that last 70 seconds before being put through.
The long-winded earful contains info already obvious to callers, such as the fact the patient is in hospital and tells callers to be “patient”.
Critics say families are being treated as “cash cows” and described the charges as “extortionate”.
Hospedia manages TV and bedside phone services in 150 NHS hospitals, installing services for free in return for keeping the money charged to patients and relatives.
The firm said in 2014 it planned to phase out the use of 070 numbers, but this has not happened.
Last year, Hospedia doubled its minimum price for a TV package from £2.50 to £5.
But at Southport and Formby Hospital on Merseyside patients are being charged £70 a week to watch telly – while lags at a nearby HMP Liverpool pay a quid.
The £10-a-day fee to have a bedside TV is for free-to-air channels only. It doubles to £20 — or £140 a week — for those also wanting Sky Sports.
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Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said: “These charges are a total rip off.
“When channels are free at home and people have already paid for their TV licence, it is unfair for them to need to pay it again.
“Hospitals and these businesses are treating the sick as cash cows.”
Liz McAnulty, chairwoman of the Patients Association, said: “It is unacceptable for people calling someone in hospital to be charged heavily for 70 seconds before they even get through.”
Lynda Thomas, chief executive for Macmillan Cancer Support, said the cost of calls was “shocking”.
She added: “When you are having cancer treatment, getting a call from a relative can make a huge difference. But if relatives have to pay extortionate amounts they may not call.”
Communications watchdog Ofcom reviewed the high costs in 2006 following complaints.
It recommended a substantial reduction in incoming call charges.
MPs on the Commons Health Select Committee also recommended a reduction in phone costs and called for a skip facility on the recorded message.
A spokesman for Hospedia said: “Ofcom granted us use of the 070 number range to enable every bedside unit to have its own unique telephone number so that friends and relatives can call patients directly.
“We believe we offer an excellent service, which would not be provided at all if it weren’t for us taking on the investment and on-going management and support costs.
“Patients can choose to pay for our services, beyond those we offer for free, or not.”
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