Royal Shrewsbury Hospital staff forced to park on grass and then fined

Doctors, nurses and laboratory technicians have all been ticketed at the hospital in recent weeks.

Some have received several tickets within days, despite having parking permits that they pay for directly from their wages.

Staff say they have no option on occasion but to park on grass verges because all spaces have been taken.

One woman who works at the hospital, but did not wish to be named, said: "It is ridiculous. I have had three tickets this week. I got to work in time for my shift the other day to find that the car park designated for staff at the hospital was full.

"I asked at the parking kiosk where to park and was told by the staff that as long as I wasn't blocking any entrances or on the yellow boxes I could park anywhere.

"In the end I had to park on the grass. When I got back to the car at the end of my shift, I found I had a ticket.

"This happened over three days this week. Each time I go and ask the parking warden at the office and they tell me to park wherever I can.

"I am not the only one to be experiencing problems at the car park and I do wonder if the person who is telling us to park on the grass and in other areas is the same person who then comes and gives us tickets. Perhaps it would best to just turn around and go home."

Staff can apply for a permit that allows them to use the designated staff car park.

They pay directly from their wages for the privilege. From December 1 last year, Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust introduced an exclusion zone where new starters who reside within a one mile radius of their hospital base are not automatically entitled to a permit to park.

The exclusion zone is currently set at a one mile radius of each hospital site, but this can be reviewed from time to time and the trust may adjust this distance. Staff at the hospital can apply for a permit to park at the site but are deducted from source for the amount the permit costs.

A spokesman for CP-Plus, the firm responsible for collecting the parking charges said: "The attendant clearly meant that she could park anywhere in the car park where she would not cause an obstruction – this would not include areas of the site and surrounding the site that were not designated for parking, including grass, hatched areas and entrance roadways."

No one was available for comment from the hospital trust.