‘Fees are a stealth tax on the sick and on NHS staff’
NHS employees. Everyone from the cleaners, porters and nurses, to doctors, radiographers and administrative support staff are literally paying millions of pounds – just to make it into work each day.”
He claimed the profits were not even going directly to the NHS but into the hands of bosses at private car parking companies.
An online petition signed by 25,000 people and supported by charities and motoring organisations was handed into Downing Street by Mr Halfon last month but the Government has refused to scrap the fees.
It has been claimed some trusts are exploiting the public to plug black holes in their finances.
In June it was revealed trusts in England ended the financial year with a deficit of £960million – almost double their £496million target.
Unite, the union representing about 100,000 health workers, heavily criticised the figures for the 2017/18 financial year, produced by NHS Digital.
Spokeswoman Sarah Carpenter said: “It is a scandal NHS trusts in England have pocketed nearly £70million from staff car parking charges. Such a large figure will take a large chunk out of the gains in the current NHS pay package which saw most staff get a pay rise of 6.5 per cent over the next three years.
“This pernicious trend is replicated by financially squeezed trusts across England. We would like a situation where dedicated NHS staff, who don’t earn a fortune, don’t have to pay to park their cars to go to work to look after the sick.”
Decisions on how much to charge patients, staff and visitors to NHS sites are made by individual trusts which can ask for up to £4 per hour.
The Department of Health and Social Care issued guidance on hospital car parking fees after the Daily Express highlighted the issue.
It suggested concessions should be offered to disabled people, relatives and carers of long-term patients and staff whose hours mean they are unable to use public transport.