Sick Phone Charges On The NHS Patientline
IT seems as though the nation’s “entrepreneurs” will do whatever it takes to squeeze every last penny out of the old and the infirm.
Following the recent furore over extortionate car parking charges at NHS hospitals, bedside phone services are now to rise in price by an incredible 160%, according to the BBC.
Private telecommunications company Patientline, who provide a large proportion of hospital bedside phones, have decided to increase the cost of calls from 10p per minute to a whopping 26p per minute.
The company themselves have, not surprisingly, defended the increases, claiming that the rises will allow them to significantly drop the cost of their more popular bedside TV packages.
However, Patients Association spokesman Michael Summers was fuming. Says he: “These people are ill, often recovering from operations, and the hike from 10p to 26p to phone out is really too much. People are going to be really upset with this.”
Two years telecoms regulator Ofcom launched an investigation into Patientline over high charges and although nothing came of it then, the company may well face more scrutiny now.
Posted: 4th, April 2007 | In: Money Comments (3) | TrackBack | Permalink
