AN elderly Herefordshire woman has had to face “shocking” telephone charges running into hundreds of pounds as a result of keeping in touch with her husband of nearly 60 years while he has been receiving treatment in hospital over 30 miles away.

Hilary Leyshon-James, aged 80, who lives with her husband, Derek, 84, on the outskirts of Hereford, was staggered to learn that daily calls to a hospital bedside phone had risen to £340 over a three-week period. She fears those charges could even soar to more than £500 for the period her husband was a patient in Worcester Royal Hospital.

Mr Leyshon-James had been a patient in Worcester for seven weeks, having undergone operations to amputate one leg, then part of his other leg. Said his wife: “As he was seriously ill, I needed to ring my very sick husband every day.

The couple, who were married at Hereford in 1958, have not been apart in all that time. “I’ve cried until I couldn’t cry anymore,” said Mrs Leyshon-James.

She claimed the charges imposed by Hospedia, a company providing bedside television and telephone facilities in hospital wards, were “extortionate”. Mrs Leyshon-James was only made aware of the high costs when BT contacted her to express concern about costly additions to her telephone bill as a result of calls to a hospital number.

She continued: “This ought to be brought to the attention of anyone ringing a loved one in hospital. I’m just worried at how many people are being conned like this.” Mrs Leyshon-James continued: “I had been ringing my husband each day for three weeks, imagine my shock when I had a call informing me my calls to the ward phone were costing 50p per minute.”

She admitted there was a recorded message detailing the charges. “But at such a stressful time, you are not fully listening. This is really taking advantage of the sick. I find this very unfair. These calls mean so much to relatives and friends in hospital, but these private companies charge what they like to provide the service, it’s really taking advantage.”

Using mobile phones was not an option. “We did try using a mobile but it wasn’t successful,” she explained.

A spokesperson for Hospedia said the company would respond to the points raised about hospital phone charges.