An MP has slammed “huge” rises in car parking charges at a Kirklees hospital.
The new charges come into force at Dewsbury and District Hospital tomorrow and have come under fire from Batley and Spen MP Jo Cox.
She said they would have a massive impact on patients.
One of the new charges will see disabled people who are Blue Badge holders have to pay to park on hospital visits. Other charges will see an increase of more than 50%
for people using the car park for less than an hour.
Hospital officials have defended the increases and changes which include:
Increases to visitor car parking tariffs
Changes to car parking concessions
Introduction of charging Blue Badge holders at a capped rate
Pay on exit parking facilities introduced at Dewsbury Hospital
A spokesman for the Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust said: “I appreciate that car parking is a concern for patients and the Trust is committed to providing good and fair access to its sites for all who use them. At the same time we need to ensure that we are operating facilities that are affordable in the long term and that front line services are protected in challenging economic times.
“The Trust currently has a financial deficit of £14.8m and a plan to break even by 2017. The cost of maintaining safe and accessible car parking facilities are increasing year on year and above the annual financial settlement for our Trust and the wider NHS. It is for that reason we continue to review our car parking provision.
“We accept these changes will be unpopular but they are reasonable steps to provide sufficient car parking capacity for those who need it, contribute to the costs of running safe and secure facilities, and safeguard access to Blue Badge parking and concessions for certain groups of patients and visitors including: people accessing certain types of services and over longer periods of time, and people on low incomes”.
Blue Badge holders will have to pay a flat rate of £2,80 per visit. There is no charge for dropping off or picking up visits of up to 20 minutes but the charge for an hour goes up from £1.30 to £2.
The charge for up to two hours is increasing by 10p to £2.80 while the charge for up to four hours is going up from £4.10 to £5.
Ms Cox said: “This is a huge rise in car parking costs, more than 50% for those staying up to an hour. It will have a big impact on my constituents, and many others who use Dewsbury & District Hospital.
“The Trust has finally acknowledged the financial pressures this government is putting it under. The financial settlement for the Trust and the NHS generally is not enough, and now that cost is being passed on to people who are sick and in many cases vulnerable, and their families.
“This is not the spirit in which the NHS was founded, and does not reflect the rhetoric of David Cameron - he promised to protect the NHS.”
