BBC Radio 5Live's Charles Eden reports from the Derriford Hospital, Plymouth

The hospital is just 10 minutes away - so they can get back quickly if there are any complications.

The hospital says the practice will free-up surgical beds so that more people can be treated.

Only day-surgery cases are being put through the pilot study at the moment. They are patients who would normally be sent straight home after a procedure but, because they live a long distance from the hospital, stay closer for one night in case of problems.

Patient hotels

Elaine Fitzsimmons, who runs the ear, nose and throat department at the Derriford, said the scheme is safe and comfortable for the patients.

The Derriford may extend the scheme to other departments

"If they lived closer to Derriford Hospital they would be fit to go home. Home is the best place for children to be. We can't provide that, but a hotel is the next best thing," she said.

She said many more procedures are being done as day surgery and she expected the scheme to spread to other departments and hospitals.

"There has been some thought for some time about patient hotels. That's not a new concept. There are some countries where they already have those, where patients stay on the hospital site in a facility that might not have any nursing or doctor import," she said.

'Abandoned principles'

But the scheme has been criticised by local GP and former Tory candidate Dr Adrian Rogers. He said it was ill thought-out and claimed it marked a new phase in the use of private facilities by the NHS.

He said: "If patients need to be supervised they should remain in hospital. The health service is significantly worse off a year after the election of a Labour government and this shows the abandonment of two principles.

"One is that they are using private sector when they should not and the second is that it offers a lesser standard of care than people may think is reasonable."