Patientline provides an excellent service for many people in Eastbourne Hospital who want to be in instant touch with their friends and relatives.

But the cost of 50p a minute for incoming calls, more than six times that charged by BT for peak-rate calls, is outrageous.

Ian Leach, from Telscombe Cliffs, who has a relative in the hospital, is just one of those upset at having to pay a fiver for a ten-minute call.

His plea for the rate to be reduced to 10p a minute, the same as that for outgoing calls, is reasonable and would ensure a profit was still made by the company.

While friends and relatives do not have to use the system, the alternative of taking the patient out to a payphone or bringing round a trolley phone is cumbersome and inconvenient.

It puts a moral obligation on callers to use the system and they are having to pay far too much for it, especially if patients are in hospital for long spells.

The NHS nationally ought to be able to organise a more competitive rate with this firm which relies on hospitals for its living.

What this system is also in danger of creating is a two-tier service for people with money and those without, although through clever marketing, this affects only relatives and not patients themselves.