Greater Manchester's biggest NHS Trust has defended the decision to reintroduce parking charges for staff.
Free parking for NHS workers was introduced by the Government towards the start of the Covid-19 pandemic but came to an end on April 1. However, several NHS trusts in Greater Manchester temporarily absorbed the cost and extended the scheme.
Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) was one of those to extend the free staff parking but in an email sent to staff last week, the trust confirmed that charges would recommence as of November 1. In an email sent to employees, MFT said that the tariff for permit-holders would be less than 1pc of each individual salary, with maximum capped fee rates of £780 per year.
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However those without parking permits will have to pay £6 per day and the trust admitted in the email that "demand for parking permits on all sites is higher than the spaces available". One children's nurse, who did not want to be named, told the Manchester Evening News that she has been on the waiting list for a permit since 2019.
"I have been struggling financially for the past six months," she said. "Unfortunately I have been on the waiting list, like many others, since 2019.
"They have now scrapped the permitting process and are starting over with a new system at some point we are told to wait and see. In the meantime, I have two options; pay daily for parking, which will cost £120 a month, or as I cannot afford this currently, walk over 20 minutes to my car in the dark.
"Our workforce is on its knees and this is the final straw for me. We are treated disgracefully and whilst complaining about the current situation I have effectively been told my personal safety will just have to wait until, at some point, a parking officer will email me info about applying for a permit which could again have years of waiting lists."
Another employee, who wished to remain anonymous, added: "The country clapped for those on the front line, but during a cost of living crisis where nurses and healthcare workers are using food banks, this 'charge to work' is announced on short notice.
"Nursing staff are planning to go on strike for better pay, and now they are £6 per day worse off. Some people cant afford this.
"We should only pay for own expenses. We pay our taxes that pay for the equipment that could save your life, and now we are paying a private company more to do this. The people who have put their life in every sense of the word, are now getting screwed out of thousands per year."
MFT is the largest NHS trust in the UK and operates 10 hospitals in Greater Manchester - Altrincham Hospital, Manchester Royal Eye Hospital, Manchester Royal Infirmary, North Manchester General Hospital, Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, Saint Mary's Hospital, Trafford General Hospital, University Dental Hospital of Manchester, Withington Community Hospital, and Wythenshawe Hospital.
The trust told staff, in the email, that the income from car parking is used to support its facilities for car users, including security, and for other services. When asked by the M.E.N about delays in issuing parking permits, a spokesman for MFT said that staff are "advised to raise any queries with the car parking team."
“The Government period of free car parking for NHS staff, introduced during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, ended on 1 April 2022," a trust spokesman said. "MFT extended this period for our staff by seven months, re-introducing charges for staff only from 1 November.
“We have also restructured these so that the cost of car parking is in line with staff salaries. This is fairer, as it means that staff who are paid less will have cheaper car parking.
"Staff car parking tariffs are 0.95% of each individual salary, with maximum capped fee rates of £780 per year. This means that the vast majority of staff at NHS Band 5 and below will pay less for their permit than before the COVID-19 pandemic started. The £6 reference relates to staff without car parking permits, not those with permits.
"Although we have reintroduced parking charges much later than many other hospitals, we understand staff may have questions. Colleagues have been advised to raise any queries with the car parking team, who are working hard to resolve any issues."
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