NHS trusts opt to keep offering staff free parking

MANY NHS trusts in the North East are still offering free parking to staff despite the end of a Government subsidy.

The union Unison wrote to four of the region’s NHS trusts telling them that reintroducing staff parking charges “could mean them quitting” amid the cost of living crisis.

It wrote to bosses at hospital trusts which had not yet ruled out reintroducing car parking fees for staff. In the North East these were Northumbria Healthcare, Gateshead Health, County Durham and Darlington and South Tyneside and Sunderland trusts. The letter said hospitals must “defy” the Government’s end to free parking for NHS staff.

Northumbria Healthcare said it had not reintroduced parking charges, while the County Durham and Darlington trust said it was “reviewing its position”. The Gateshead trust, which runs the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, pointed to a range of measures, including a partnership with Citizens Advice, as ways it is supporting staff.

Bosses at South Tyneside and Sunderland also said they were continuing to offer free staff parking. In Newcastle, the trust’s management has previously reiterated that staff who have a permit allowing on-site parking are not being charged to park despite the end of the Government subsidy.

The union also called on NHS bosses to address the rising cost of fuel by raising mileage rates for staff who use their car for work – and has again demanded that the Government provide an adequate pay rise for NHS staff.

In the letter, Unison’s northern regional secretary Clare Williams said: “Staff on the brink of leaving the NHS may well see the reintroduction of parking charges as the final straw. This could mean them quitting when the NHS needs experienced staff more than ever.”

She added that the move would “add hundreds of pounds to the cost pressures” facing NHS staff and reduce morale. She said: “The continuation of free parking and an inflation-busting pay rise is vital to stop more staff leaving NHS jobs this year.”

The Government says that mileage rates are tax-free up to 45p a mile – but the union say this should be raised.

Most of the trusts in our region said they followed national NHS guidance – but at Northumbria Healthcare, a spokesperson said a “supplementary increase” had been introduced, while South Tyneside and Sunderland said that it had increased the mileage rate “for staff who hit the mileage cap”.

Jacqueline Bilcliff, deputy chief executive at Gateshead Health, said bosses appreciated how the rise in the cost of living was affecting staff and were “working to provide support and guidance around finance wellbeing for any staff who may need it”.

At Northumbria Healthcare, a spokesperson said that in addition to reviewing its mileage rates on a quarterly basis, “staff also have access to our public-sector lease car scheme”.

Kath Griffin, HR director at South Tyneside and Sunderland, said she hoped its increase in mileage rates for some staff would “go some way to easing any additional financial burden” on staff.

A spokesperson for County Durham and Darlington NHS Trust, said: “We are following national guidance and are currently reviewing our position.”

A Department of Health spokesperson said the Government was grateful for the “incredible contribution” of NHS staff and the free parking funding was only intended to be temporary. The spokesperson added that NHS staff could claim 56p per mile for work-related travel.