Thousands of patients are facing huge hikes in phone bills when they call friends and relatives from their hospital beds.

Patientline, which charges people to make phone calls and watch television in hospital, is increasing its bedside call charge by 160 per cent from 10p a minute to 26p.

For people calling patients from outside hospital the cost is already 39p per minute off-peak and 49p a minute peak.

The company said it had to recoup the millions of pounds spent on investing in the system and blamed a lengthy timetable for discussions with the Department of Health for it having to postpone a decision on reducing charges.

Patientline systems are installed at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton, the Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath, Eastbourne District General Hospital and the Conquest Hospital in St Leonards.

Patients Association trustee Michael Summers said the costs to ill people and their families were too high.

He said: "Patients are very concerned already and the proposed increase in percentage terms will mean that, in many, many cases, patients and their families will not be able to afford this.

"It is absolutely beyond the realm of payment for many patients. We are seeing an increasingly ageing population and many of these people will be on fixed incomes.

"It is too much and too expensive."

Mr Summers said people could call around the world for about half the cost of the 49p a minute charge for people calling Patientline phone numbers.

In a statement Patientline insisted it wanted to reduce call charges but had yet to make a profit.

It also said its charges were dictated by the Government's contract with Patientline, which meant it had to fund and recover all installation costs, about £1 million per hospital, as well as the additional day-to-day running costs.

Patientline charges patients £3.50 a day to watch television and £2.20 for an hour on the internet.

It says it is reducing the television cost to £2.90 a day to compensate for the higher cost of calls.