A HEALTH trust has raked in more than £80,000 in the past two years from charges for incoming phone calls to the district's hospitals.
Mid Yorkshire Hospitals Trust replaced local dialling codes with a revenue-sharing scheme using 0844 numbers in May 2006.
The change meant the trust received a proportion of the charges – 5p per minute from a landline and up to 40p a minute from a
mobile – from the network provider.
Now health chiefs have revealed calls to Pinderfields, Pontefract and Dewsbury hospitals have generated 'in the region of £82,000' since the change.
The figures, requested by the
Express via the Freedom of Information Act, were described as 'indefensible' by the Patients Association.
Vice chairman Michael Summers said: "We really don't think hospitals should extract money from patients from phone calls.
"They are ill and this is just a tax on them. It is indefensible.
"There is no regulation on this and trusts are able to charge what they like. It affects patients and families as people often don't know how long they are going to be in hospital."
Thousands of calls are made by patients, friends and relatives to hospitals every week, the trust receives 0.0275p for every 10-second call.
It said the phone system was more efficient and benefited patients as the cash was reinvested in services.
Contact forms have been posted on the
trust website so people can make appointments and inquires without phoning.
