Patients, visitors and staff can now use their mobile phones in hospitals.

Up to now hospitals across Sussex have had a blanket ban on mobiles throughout their buildings but restrictions are now being partially lifted following proposed new guidance from the Department of Health.

East Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs Eastbourne District General Hospital and the Conquest Hospital in St Leonards, is allowing mobiles to be used in all corridors and offices outside of clinical zones.

They can also be switched on in outpatients clinic waiting rooms, postgraduate and educational areas, restaurant and coffee bars, grounds and gardens, accommodation blocks, day rooms on wards, offices on wards, on call rooms outside of clinical areas and designated staff rest areas in clinical areas.

However the phones must be switched off on the main ward areas and in clinical areas and people are being urged to respect the needs of hospital patients so they are not disturbed.

St Richard's Hospital in Chichester has also reviewed its policy and lifted the ban in most areas.

A full ban is still in force at Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs hospitals in Brighton and Haywards Heath and at Worthing and Southlands Hospitals NHS Trust but this may be reviewed in the future.

East Sussex Hospitals director of facilities David Philliskirk said: "The trust recognises there is a balance between the advantages of using mobile phones and their risk to patients by affecting the proper use of medical equipment, such as heart monitors and infusion pumps.

"However, the trust also appreciates that patients who are ill need rest and quiet and that the use of mobile phones can disturb other patients.

"We expect everyone who carries a mobile phone - patients, staff, visitors and contractors - to use it responsibly.

"This means you should not use your mobile phone within two metres of medical devices.

"It also means that everyone should respect patient confidentiality and show consideration for others by not causing a disturbance."

The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency has published work that shows that mobile phones have the potential to interfere with medical equipment.

Director of operations at St Richard's, Lyn Robertshaw, said: "We have reviewed our policy on mobile phones and lifted the ban on their use across the hospital site with the exception of our clinical and restaurant areas.

"This is not solely about the safety of equipment but the potential of noise intrusion and to respect the privacy and dignity of patients in ward bays for example."

The Department of Health says there is no reason why patients cannot use phones in communal areas, although they may still be banned in some areas for medical or privacy reasons.

The guidance is being updated following the recommendations of a review by an independent group looking into high phone charges experienced by patients using bedside facilities such as Patientline.

Patientline, which installs and maintains bedside systems in NHS hospitals, came under intense scrutiny in Parliament and by the telephone regulator Ofcom last year for charging consumers up to 49p per minute to make calls to patients.

The guidance, which will be issued before the summer, will take into account mobile technology such as built-in cameras and the implications for privacy.

Have you or a loved one been charged a lot of money to use Patientline phones in hospital? Leave your comments below.