Petition to scrap parking costs for NHS staff grows after some trusts reintroduce fees

‘So much for clapping and cheering NHS staff who are still dealing with Covid,' says member of public

An NHS Track and Trace staff member speaks with a person at a drive-through test facility following an outbreak of the coronavirus  (REUTERS)

A petition to convince the government to permanently scrap parking costs for NHS staff has garnered nearly 930,000 signatures after reports from NHS workers that some hospital trusts have reintroduced the fees.

In the early days of the coronavirus lockdown in March, the government announced it would cover the costs of providing free parking to NHS staff during the pandemic.

But some NHS workers have turned to social media to complain that they have been recently hit by parking charges and fines despite battling the second wave of Covid-19 currently gripping Britain.

On Sunday, it was reported that staff at the Kings College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust were facing a 200 per cent increase in packing fees, with new permits costing up to £1,440.

News of the hike, first reported by The Mail on Sunday, was met with outrage and criticism from the public’s s well as by Labour shadow health secretary, Jonathan Ashworth.

A senior nurse at the trust told the newspaper she had worked for the NHS for 30 years and would see her annual parking charges increase from £240 to £720 because of the hikes.

Mr Ashworth described the price hike as “disgusting”, and said in a tweet: “From clap the carers to clamp the carers. Our hardworking, brave NHS staff deserve better. Boris Johnson must step in and sort this out.”

Richard Burgon, MP for East Leeds, also weighed in on the report and said: “NHS staff shouldn’t be charged for parking at work. That many doctors and nurses now face a 200 per cent increase is a disgrace.

“We owe our fantastic NHS staff so much. The Government must step in and guarantee free hospital parking.”

Health Secretary Matt Hancock came under fire after wrongly telling Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid during his appearance on Good Morning Britain on Monday that there were no parking charges for NHS staff in English hospitals.

According to the Coventry Telegraph, parking charges were reintroduced for staff at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) in June and remain in place.

Zarah Sultana, MP for Coventry South, slammed the health secretary for being “out of touch” when he made the comments.

“It’s scandalous that during a global pandemic, the government has failed to guarantee free parking for NHS staff,” she told the local newspaper.

“Workers at UHCW have told me how these charges are pricing them out of the profession they love. But the health secretary seems to be so out of touch that he doesn’t even know this is happening.”

In October, a student nurse told The Independent she was handed a parking fine after a 13-hour shift at a hospital car park. She said she and other members of staff were not informed that parking was no longer free for them.

Members of the public have reacted angrily to reports of reinstated parking fees, with many calling the charges “vile” and “appalling”.

One person said: “Hearing that NHS staff car parking permits will be increasing by 200 per cent in price has actually got me raging!!! Absolute no respect for what NHS staff actually do day in day out, our government is shambles.”

The petition, which was started in July, has garnered 928,2109 signatures at the time of writing.A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care told The Independent: "During this ongoing global pandemic we are providing the funding for NHS staff to get free hospital parking, meaning staff should not be charged to park.

“From January next year, it will become mandatory for hospitals to offer free parking to disabled people, frequent outpatient attenders, parents of children staying overnight and staff working night shifts, with thousands of NHS patients, staff and visitors are eligible under these rules.”