Hospital parking charges are on the rise
THE cost of parking at Huddersfield Royal Infirmary and Calderdale Royal Hospital in Halifax has increased – but not everyone was on board with the decision.
The price for up to two hours stay in a hospital car park has increased 20p to £3.
And the cost of parking for eight hours or more has leapt £1 to £8 – a whopping 14% hike.
The price rises come as Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust (CHFT) looks set to end the financial year a shocking £43m in the red.
Parking is one of its main ways to mitigate its financial woes, with more than £2m made each year from patients, visitors and staff.
But minutes from board of directors meeting at CHFT last November reveal some members did not approve of the price rises.
Dr Linda Patterson OBE, a non-executive director for the past five years, told her colleagues the parking charges were already high.
She proposed the charges were frozen but could not get any support from the rest of the board.
Paul Butterworth, a publicly elected governor, said he felt people should not pay when they are unwell and car parking charges should not be increased.
Mr Butterworth also said it was unfair to charge staff, with those on the bottom end of the pay scale paying 1.5% of their salaries