A CONTROVERSIAL scheme to charge patients for private phones and televisions is being extended to another North-East hospital.

News that private phones and TVs are being installed at Darlington Memorial Hospital was attacked by the biggest health union, Unison.

Liz Twist, head of health for the North-East region of Unison, condemned the move. "We would be very unhappy to see this extended any further. We would be concerned that the less well off are going to lose out," she said.

Bedside pay phones and TVs were introduced at the University Hospital of North Durham last year, despite opposition by Unison and some local politicians.

Now the same system, which charges patients £3 a day to watch TV and has a 50p-per-minute tariff on incoming calls from relatives and friends, will be used at Darlington. It has also been installed at the £67m Bishop Auckland General Hospital, which is due to open before July 28.

Earlier this year, the chairman of the Labour-led Health Select Committee MP, David Hinchliffe, said he feared that the payphones and pay TVs could herald further charges within the NHS.

A spokeswoman for the South Durham Health Care NHS Trust, which runs the Darlington and Bishop Auckland hospitals, said the TVs would be free for children and half-price for over-60s.

The issue will be discussed by Darlington and Teesdale Community Health Council on Thursday.

A discussion paper prepared by the council points out that the feedback from North Durham CHC is "positive". One of the surprising advantages is that patients who use the bedside service seem to need less pain relief.

But a spokeswoman for Age Concern England said: "If you are an old person you shouldn't have to worry that you can't afford to phone your family."

A spokesman for Patientline said the company was investing about £1m per hospital. "Nursing staff have the discretion to offer the service for free if they think the patient is needy. There will also be regular terrestial TV in ward day rooms and ordinary payphones. You don't have to use our facilities. It is a matter of convenience and choice," he said.

The Department of Health has said it wants to see bedside phones and TVs in place by the end of next year.