Hospital car parking charges row: Express & Star readers demand fees are scrapped
Three quarters of Express & Star readers who voted in a poll say hospital parking charges should be abolished.
It follows a report that hospital trusts in Staffordshire and Black Country made almost £10m from parking charges in 2016/17.
University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust, which runs County Hospital in Stafford, made £3.6m and The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, which is in charge of New Cross Hospital, received a £2.3m income.
Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust took in £2.4m and Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust, which runs Walsall Manor Hospital, made £1.1m.
Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Russells Hall Hospital, made £471,000, but most of the revenue was taken by a private finance initiative firm.
The trusts, which charge different amounts for parking, have defended the income, claiming the money is reinvested into services, and that the cost of maintaining the car parks should not come out of finances allocated for patient care.
But there has long been criticism of the charges, including from the Labour Party, which said it would do away with them ahead of the election this year.
And the Express & Star online poll asking readers if charges should be scrapped has come back with a majority verdict.
Out of more than 1,000 readers, 75 per cent agreed the charges should be abolished.
Reader Paul Biggs said: "Excessive charges aren't justified wherever the money goes - they are simply a tax on staff, patients and visitors."
Gavin Williams said: "I'm happy to pay for a one off visit, but when family members are in for long periods of time it ends up costing a fortune."
However, Zoe Kriston said: "I’m more than happy to pay a few quid to park when going to the hospital and using its services for free, all the people moaning about paying for parking why not go private then so you can park for free and get seen on time."
