Costs associated with hospital stays 'cause stress'

One in three people feel stressed about the extra costs incurred by hospital stays, a survey has found.

Cash plan provider Medicash polled 400 Britons, all of whom had recently been in hospital or attended as an outpatient on a regular basis.

The average patient said they had lost out to the tune of £50, with this money typically going towards hospital car parking charges, TV cards, food, travel expenses and medication.

In addition, those who were employed at the time of their hospitalisation lost £190, on average, during their hospital stay.

The survey also revealed that half of patients who felt stressed about the extra costs while in hospital were concerned that this could hinder their recovery.

Sue Weir, chief executive of Medicash, said: 'The survey demonstrates that the true cost of being ill is far higher than people realise and people are being affected by stress which can severely impact on their recovery.

'When you add up the costs of parking charges, TV cards, food and travel, the financial burden for many people is considerable and people who haven't been able to budget in advance can be hit hard.'


Recent figures released by the NHS Information Centre revealed that 20,800 hospital admissions in England between March 2010 and February 2011 were caused by people falling out of bed.