4,000 hit by penalties for New Cross Hospital parking

A total of 3,794 drivers received warnings and penalty charge notices at New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton between February 1, 2013 and January 31, 2014.

Over the same period a year earlier, only 1,842 were given – meaning there has been a year-on-year increase of 106 per cent.

Hospital bosses said the rise in tickets comes after they launched a crackdown last summer to stop people parking incorrectly.

However, the sum of money collected from fines has halved over the same time.

Over the past 12 months, parking tickets cost patients and staff £4,548, compared to £8,093 the previous year.

An MP today called for 'leniency' for those visiting loved ones who fail to pay and display or overstay.

Paul Uppal, who represents Wolverhampton South West, said: "I have been to New Cross a few times and this almost happened to me.

"I just think there has to be a modicum of common sense. It's a very difficult time, visiting someone at the hospital. The last thing you want to do in a situation like that is be scrabbling for change.

"There should be an element of discretion on these things," he said.

The hospital's car parks are run by parking management company APCOA, which gives a slice of the money it makes from fines toThe Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, which runs the Wolverhampton Road hospital.

Trust spokeswoman Hayley Johnson said the reason for the negative correlation between the number of tickets issued and the sum raised through fines was that more people were paying their fines quicker, meaning they did not have to fork out extra cash for delayed payments.

She said: "The reason that the numbers are different is that how much money both the parking company and the trust gets depends on when people pay the fines. If people pay within so long, they only have to pay a reduced rate.

"The trust is responsible for ensuring that the roads and pavements of the hospital are kept free of obstructions. Due to problems being caused to pedestrians, disabled persons and the potential of blocking routes for emergency vehicles, we have from the summer of 2013, given an increased focus on 'out of bay' parking. Where vehicles are incorrectly parked, they have received an infringement notice.

"In addition, where building projects have caused restrictions on car parking, we have provided alternative off-site parking;."

Of the 3,794 tickets issued at the hospital in the 12 months to January 31, 2013, some 2,761 were given warnings and the remaining 1,033 received total penalty charge notices.

Figures released under the Freedom of Information Act last year showed that Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals NHS Trust collected the most money from parking enforcement of any in NHS trust in the Black Country, taking £8,783 in the 2012/13 financial year.