Hospitals charge nurses '£90 a month' to park their cars

Nurses and hospital porters are being charged nearly £90 a month to park at their workplace.

Research by the UNISON union found there was a wide variety in what health workers had to pay to take their car to work.

The most expensive was the Royal Free NHS Trust in London, where it costs full-time staff £85.38 a month to park.

Others, including those working for the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals Trust, have to spend £79.50 a month.

The union used freedom of information requests to survey 199 NHS trusts to find out which forced their workers to pay and which allowed them to leave their cars for free.

Many trusts operated a flat-rate payment system regardless of a staff member's income, but some offered discounted parking for those on lower wages, while others did not charge to park.

UNISON's head of health Christina McAnea said: "Health staff are struggling to get by on a pay rise well below the cost of living and these extortionate fees are an extra tax on their wages.

"Many NHS staff work shifts so they have to drive because they can't get buses or trains in the middle of the night. Health workers in rural areas, where public transport is virtually non-existent, are entirely dependent on their cars to get to work.

"Others have to fork out for expensive permits with no guarantee of a space when they get to work.

"The Government should be guaranteeing fair parking charges for all health employees, and the NHS should stop making money off the back of its dedicated workforce."

Workers told the union they sometimes had no choice but to spend large amounts of money on parking.

One community therapist in Derbyshire said: "I have paid over £1,000 for a space that I don't always use, in a car park with potholes, poor lighting, no CCTV and where cars are damaged regularly."

A health worker in South Derbyshire added: "I've been on the waiting list for a car park pass for over three years. I have to arrive an hour before my shift to find a place on the street to park, which costs me £4 a day."

A student nurse in Nottingham, meanwhile, said: "I may not be able to continue with my studies. I already spend £60 a week in petrol to get to the hospital, plus £9 A day for parking."