PATIENTS and visitors in hospitals around Ireland are reportedly being forced to pay €2 to charge their mobile phones.
The issue has caused widespread anger among patients and their families who are already faced with dozens of other costs involved with visiting and staying in hospitals.
St Vincent's Hospital and the Mater Hospital - both in Dublin - are known to have units on site which ask for payment to charge your phone.
Most of the money made from the units are going to the private provider of the service, with the rest going to the hospital, according to the Irish Independent.
Hospital visitors like John Dilion - whose sister is terminally ill and recently spent three nights on a trolley in the A&E department in St Vincent's Hospital - argue that the costs are a needless add-on for those "who may be under financial pressure at a difficult time".
People visiting patients in hospital typically have a number of costs to take into account such as car parking, food and drink.
Mr Dilion claimed that during a recent visit, the coffee machine in St Vincent's broke down, while food items like sandwiches can cost up to €5, and parking at the hospital for just two to three hours costs €7.20.
Forcing people to pay to charge their phones not only feels like overkill, but it arguably borders on extortion.
The news comes amid Ireland's worst hospital overcrowding crisis in a generation.
