Patients could see the cost of making calls from their hospital bed increase by 160 per cent.

Patientline, the company which operates bedside telephone and television units, is to increase its call charges from 10p a minute to 26p.

It said the move was necessary because it had never made a profit, despite investing £160 million in the system.

The company currently charges £3.50 a day to watch television and £2.20 an hour to use the internet.

Vi Haddow, acting chairman of the hospital's patient forum, said the move was outrageous.

She said: "I find it difficult to understand why they have done this unless they aren't getting people using the service.

"It's being imposed on people who are in their most vulnerable state while in hospital."

A spokesman for Essex Rivers Healthcare NHS Trust said: "Colchester General Hospital has no say in the procuring of Patientline services and we make no money from them.

"But we do value the services which are provided by Patientline, which allows nurses to attend to their duties rather than being switchboard operators. Overall we believe the cost of the service has actually gone down."

The firm posted losses of £25 million last year and it said it is reducing the cost of television to £2.90 a day to compensate for the higher cost of calls.

A statement from Patientline said: "We are committed to providing the best possible service and, as such, Patientline is working to make the service easier to use and understand."