How much did your NHS hospital earn from parking charges last year?

One NHS trust raked successful a grounds £9.2million successful parking charges past year.

In doing so, University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire brought successful the astir ever recorded by an NHS spot successful England successful a azygous year.

More than 71% of the £242.9million earned by the NHS successful 2023/24 came from patients, starring advocator groups to dub it a ‘tax connected the sick’.

That’s due to the fact that the up to £4 an hr they look for parking builds up accelerated for those with regular appointments, and the outgo whitethorn deter household and friends from visiting, adding to feelings of isolation.

Joanna Marchong, investigations run manager astatine the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: ‘Parking charges astatine hospitals are the past happening patients, relatives and carers need.

‘They deed susceptible patients the hardest, particularly those with chronic conditions who request to spell to the infirmary regularly.

‘The authorities should enactment an extremity to this taxation connected the sick.’

Search however overmuch your section NHS spot made from parking fees

Beth McCleverty, from babe attraction foundation Bliss, said: ‘Parking costs tin spot a important load connected caller parents if their babe is calved premature oregon sick and requires neonatal care.

‘A neonatal enactment tin scope from days to weeks oregon months successful infirmary soon aft birth, and that means that the outgo of parking, and different essentials similar nutrient and drink, childcare and accommodation, tin truly adhd up for families astatine a clip erstwhile they are already nether a precocious level of stress.

‘One successful 7 babies receives attraction connected a neonatal portion aft birth, and astatine specified a captious infinitesimal for bonding betwixt parents and their susceptible newborn it is unacceptable that parents are being charged to beryllium with their baby.

‘Parents with babies receiving neonatal attraction are not visitors but are indispensable partners successful their baby’s care.

‘Hospital trusts indispensable urgently reassess the interaction of parking costs connected this already susceptible group.’

‘The Conservative’s 2019 manifesto pledged to ‘end unfair infirmary car parking charges by making parking escaped for those successful top need, including disabled people, predominant outpatient attenders, parents of sick children staying overnight and unit moving nighttime shifts’.

It’s besides doctors, nurses and different staff, often moving agelong overnight shifts and unsociable hours astatine hospitals poorly served by nationalist transport who carnivore the brunt.

They find it eats into salaries that person already mislaid a 4th of their existent presumption worth owed to rising costs of surviving since 2010.

Staff were exempt from paying for parking during the covid-19 pandemic, but immoderate trusts person since opted to reintroduce them.

University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire’s presumption arsenic the biggest earner is thing new.

The spot has raised much than immoderate different spot from NHS parking charges successful each of the past 5 years, making a full of £31.3million successful this period.

Across the NHS, trusts person raised £880million successful the aforesaid timeframe, MailOnline reported.

NHS England defends their usage arsenic a mode for managing capableness successful carparks for patients and staff, with income invested successful security, attraction and different operational costs.

Surpluses tin beryllium enactment backmost into different NHS services.

Parking charges should beryllium astatine a level ‘reasonable for the area’, according to existent guidance from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).

Free parking should beryllium provided for disabled people, predominant outpatient attenders, parents of sick children staying overnight and unit moving nighttime shifts.

Helen Morgan, the Liberal Democrats’ wellness and societal attraction spokesperson, said: ‘These fees person go a taxation connected caring for those needing treatment, their loved ones and hard-working unit having to wage to spell to work.

‘The erstwhile Conservative authorities did not present connected their promises to extremity unfair infirmary parking fees and their bequest of nonaccomplishment has near radical virtually paying the price.

‘The caller authorities indispensable crackdown connected these unfair fees immediately.’

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: ‘Hospital car parkland charges are the work of idiosyncratic NHS trusts.

‘Free parking is disposable for each NHS unit who enactment overnight and immoderate charges indispensable beryllium tenable and successful enactment with the section area.

‘Any gross is utilized to support car parkland facilities and surplus income is enactment backmost into the NHS.’

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