A doctor has hit out at "predatory" fees targeting overworked NHS staff after he returned to his car just minutes late after a gruelling overnight shift and was fined £200.
London-based GP registrar Malinga Ratwatte was sent two £100 fines after he overstayed in an hospital car park by just eight minutes and nine minutes respectively, after finishing two 12 and half hour night shifts.
After a few days off he received a 'welcome back from annual leave' present in the post of the two fines - although his hospital trust's CEO has now offered to help get them rescinded.
He said he had been helping to staff a busy hospital overnight with sick patients coming through the doors.
Dr Ratwatte said in a tweet that has since gone viral: "I pay for out of hours parking via salary but this finishes at 8.30am, the exact same time that handover finishes.
"I left at 8.38am on day one and 8.39am on day two simply because I was walking from the meeting to the car park.
"How I am expected to teleport from a critical meeting about patient care to the car park is beyond me.
"It is absolutely abhorrent that even after covid, NHS staff are being exploited and treated so poorly through predatory car parking fees and fines."
He added: "This kind of behaviour is just one of the many reasons as to why NHS staff are feeling so disillusioned, combined with poor staffing, under resourcing and long term pay erosion.
"Forcing staff to cover unfilled rota gaps is causing burnout, stress and mental health problems.
"It's time for change in the NHS. The system is broken."
The doctor shared photos of his fines on Twitter, with his post receiving more than 21,000 likes and 7,000 retweets.
Dr Ratwatte later added: "I'm absolutely overwhelmed by the outpouring of support I've received regarding my recent NHS car parking fines after my night shifts.
"Thanks to your help, the CEO of the Trust has reached out and has offered to help have the fines rescinded.
"I'm thankful for this but also brought up the fact that it doesn't solve the underlying issue.
"Many other doctors will continue to face the same issue as our shifts finish at 8.30am and 9.30am. I've asked that the Trust extend the overnight car parking hours until 10am.
"I hope the Trust decides to implement this.
"Nonetheless, NHS staff deserve to be able to drive to and from work, it's the least that the government can do to support us after the pandemic."
The Doctors' Association UK has launched a campaign calling for free parking at hospitals for all NHS staff.
Dr Ellen Welch, co-chair of DAUK, told the Mirror: “Charging staff to go to work, and furthermore, fining them when they stay late to deal with sick patients shows our key workers how much the government values them.
"As the NHS continues to haemorrhage staff, the government should be looking for easy wins like free parking to boost morale.
"That is why DAUK is campaigning for free NHS parking.”
