Hospital parking charges up 108% for consultants
GoogleConsultants and some doctors at a hospital have seen staff parking charges increase by more than 100%, a union says.
Price rises accompanied the introduction of automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) at James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough.
A University Hospitals Tees (UHT) spokesperson confirmed £1.8m would be invested in car park improvements over the coming year.
The British Medical Association (BMA) has described the new charges as "shocking and unacceptable".
Some members of staff on lower salaries would see a decrease in charges but consultants would pay a tariff for a dedicated car park for them, said the UHT.
The BMA has said charges for consultants at the hospital have gone up by 108%, with some doctors on specific shift patterns seeing increases in excess of 125%.
The price changes will bring the South Tees hospitals in line with the policy of the North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Trust, which has had varied prices for staff over the last 10 years.
'Lack of understanding'
Dr Andy Thornley, representing the BMA, said: "Charging staff who are just trying to come to work to care for patients at the hospital to make financial gains for a struggling trust is wrong.
"Worse still is the unfair charges that patients and their visitors are being forced to pay, with no choice in order to access the hospital.
"This is just the latest in what can only be described as chaotic implementation of new parking measures at the hospital, impacting not only consultants but also resident doctors who are still unsure what the new charges will mean for them.
"We want assurances that staff who are members of the parking scheme will not be fined additional charges for simply coming to work to care for patients."
A UNISON spokesperson reinforced this message, stating that imposing higher parking charges on NHS staff and patients "shows a shocking lack of understanding" of the financial struggle many are facing.
The trust has said it is the first increase in two years and that any surplus funds will be diverted into patient care.
A spokesperson said: "We understand the price rise is not welcome news, but we have kept the increase as low as possible.
"We would like to reassure all our patients and visitors that the income from car parking is used to maintain our car parks including the costs of repairs and maintenance, lighting, gritting and security, all of which helps us to retain our 'Park Mark' Safer Parking Scheme accreditation.
"This coming year will see us invest £1.8m in improvements to our car parking."