NHS staff paying at ‘free’ car park

ASOUTHPORT Hospital worker is furious after staff continued to be charged for parking when no-one else was.

Last week, Visiter.co.uk reported that the barriers to the public car park remained open following the impact of the ransomware attack which struck the NHS nationwide.

Southport & Ormskirk Trust was among the worst hit by the cyber attack and was only able to resume full service in stages.

One issue left the car park barriers open, meaning visitors could benefit from free parking all day.

However, staff were left unhappy after they continued to have to pay more than £30 a month to use the parking facilities.

The fee is deducted directly from staff wages, meaning they couldn’t avoid paying even when the car park is open.

The worker, who did not want to be named, said staff were similarly affected when a different problem left the barriers open for a long period last year.

“What a lot of people don’t realise is that the staff who are in the car parking scheme are still being charged £30+ per month by the Hospital Trust at this time, despite the barriers being up.

“This fee is deducted from staff’s wages regardless of the barriers being up, and staff are still charged despite the public having free parking in the same car parks.

“Last year the barriers were damaged in the car park behind the hospital, it was a car park accessible to staff and visitors and took approximately two to three months to replace a part that was damaged.

“During this time, the barrier was permanently in the up position allowing people to come and go free as they pleased but yet again still charging staff through monthly withdrawals from their pay packet.’’

The employee added: “Staff and visitors not in the parking scheme used the car park free of charge during this time, where staff in the scheme were paying out £30 plus.”

Southport & Ormskirk NHS Trust has been approached for comment.