Hospitals charge nurses '£90 a month' for parking

UNISON has claimed that some hospitals are charging NHS staff ‘extortionate’ fees of nearly £100 a month to park.

The research has discovered a wide variety in what health workers had to pay to take their car to work, with London’s the Royal Free NHS Trust charging full-time staff £85.38 a month to park and staff at the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals Trust having to spend £79.50 a month.

Elsewhere, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust in Kent charges full-time staff 17.33 a month, whereas the cost at the Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is £40 a month for a five-day-a-week permit.

According to responses from 199 trusts across the UK, UNISN highlights more than ten trusts operating a ‘flat rate’ system, regardless of what employees get paid. Moreover, many NHS staff are not even guaranteed a parking space despite having to pay out in advance for permits with some health workers left with fines of up to £100­.

Christina McAnea, UNISON head of health, said: “Health staff are struggling to get by on a pay rise well below the cost of living, and these extortionate fees are an extra tax on their wages. Many NHS staff work shifts so they have to drive because they can’t get buses or trains in the middle of the night.

“Health workers in rural areas, where public transport is virtually non-existent, are entirely dependent on their cars to get to work. Others have to fork out for expensive permits with no guarantee of a space when they get to work. The government should be guaranteeing fair parking charges for all health employees, and the NHS should stop making money off the back of its dedicated workforce.”