Hospital staff forced to pay for parking have been dealt a new blow – a £90-a-year hike in charges.
A typical NHS staffer in England will pay around £1,000 to park at work after the charges – waived for two years of the pandemic – returned this month.
Many nurses are taking on extra shifts to cope with soaring living costs.
And Rachel Harrison, GMB National Officer, said the parking fees are yet another insult. She said: “We think it’s an appalling decision. The timing of it is even more insulting, especially during the cost of living crisis.
“The Government has no understanding of what the NHS is facing. We’re two years through a pandemic which is not over. Staff are absolutely exhausted and this is just another thing to discourage them from staying in the NHS. We’re seeing an exodus.”
Nurse Iain Wilson, who pays £8 a day to park at a London hospital, said: “We are still working flat-out for patients day and night. It feels spiteful to be made to pay money to the car park landlords again – and if we don’t pay correctly, get repeated fines and court threats.”
NHS staff parking is free in Wales and Scotland.
In England, 72 trusts charge for parking – down from 159 in 2019/20. Income plunged from £90million to £5.3m in that time.
NHS data shows average hourly rates rose from 19p an hour to 23p – an extra £90.34 for nurses on four 12-hour shifts.
Coventry & Warwickshire NHS Trust raised £904,000 from staff parking in one year – the most of any NHS Trust.
Staff there pay up to £840 a year, but it can cost £1,300 at other trusts.
Dr John Puntis, co-chair of Keep Our NHS Public, said: “This is an example of how the slow march of privatisation and the drive for hospitals to be more like businesses has made them less sensitive to needs of patients, visitors and staff.”
Karen Reissmann, a psychiatric therapy services nurse in Manchester, is braced for charges to be reintroduced.
She said: “The news went round like wildfire. We were fuming.
“We’ve taken year after year of pay cuts. You wonder at what point they
will stop making us pay for something that’s not our problem.”
Wes Streeting, Shadow Health and Social Care Secretary, said: “Some thanks NHS staff get for their efforts over the pandemic. This could be one more thing that pushes many to leave.”
The Department of Health and Social Care has said it cost £130m to cover the cost of parking over two years.
