A hospital bedside TV and phone system has been criticised for being too expensive and confusing.

The Argus has received several complaints about the Patientline service at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton.

Patientline, now known as Hospedia, is an independent company providing the service for the hospital.

Pensioner Ruth Mitchell spent six days at the Royal Sussex for treatment for her diabetes.

During her six-day stay she used Patientline and paid out around £25.

Mrs Mitchell, 64, from Peacehaven, said working out what package to go for and how to get the best value was difficult.

She said: “I came in on a Thursday evening and at that stage I was not sure how long I would be in for so I decided to pay enough for one day at a time.

“It seemed to run out really quickly and so I had to put more money in the next day.

“All I seemed to keep on doing was putting more and more money in.

“I was told by someone that if I paid by debit card I could get a refund if I left hospital without using up the whole package so I put an extra £10 in.

“But when I was discharged the next day I only got around £2.50 back and there was nothing that could be done about it.

“I'm a pensioner and I can’t afford to lose money like that.

“It seems very unfair and I think the whole system needs to be looked at because there are probably other people losing out as well.

“It was saying it cost £3 a day but it seemed to be costing a lot more.”

Nigel Heffron, of Fletchling Close, Brighton, said: "I went to get a card out of the machine and all the prices were wrong.

"The company is making money for themselves and the patients are losing out.”

A spokesman for Hospedia said the situation was being investigated.

He said: “This case of Mrs Mitchell is the first complaint we have had like this and we will be looking into it to find out exactly what has happened.

“It appears that in this case the patient did not purchase the package most effective to them.

“If there is a problem then we will review our notices and signs to stop any recurrence of this incident.”

In 2007 Patientline was forced to cut its charges after it increased the price of outgoing calls by 160% from 10p to 26p a minute.

The minimum call charge came down from 40p to 10p.

Have you had a problem with the Hospedia service? Call Siobhan Ryan on 01273 544543 or leave your comments below.