Fresh calls to scrap higher parking fees at Shropshire's hospitals

The new charges, which came into force in November, have seen increases across the board, with up to 24 hours of parking at Royal Shrewsbury and Princess Royal Hospitals now costing £8 – more than double the £3.50 it cost previously.

Telford & Wrekin Councillor Arnold England, cabinet member for communities, health and wellbeing, is expected to table a motion at a meeting of the full council next week, calling on councillors to put pressure on Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) to scrap the higher charges.

The motion will also call on the government to step in and supply the trust with funding to cover the shortfall.

The motion, which is expected to be seconded by Councillor Gilly Reynolds, states: "‘This council calls on SaTH to reverse their recent increase in parking charges at the Princess Royal Hospital at Telford and calls on the government to replace the projected lost income to avoid a worsening financial deficit for the trust."

It comes after Telford & Wrekin Council wrote to the trust over “unjustifiable increases” in parking charges.

The authority previously described the increases introduced by the trust as “a tax on visiting the sick”.

The council says it has also written to MPs about the changes.

Previously, visitors paid £2.50 for up to two hours, £3 for two to five hours and £3.50 for five to 24 hours.

The current charges are now £3 for up to two hours, £4 for up to three hours, £5 for up to four hours, £6 for up to five hours, and £8 for 24 hours.

Bosses at SaTH said it was the first change to car parking charges at SaTH in four years and the trust was still among the lowest in the country, with people able to park for up to 20 minutes without charge.

Last year, it was revealed that visitors and staff have paid out more than £4 million to park at Shropshire’s main hospitals in the past three years.

SaTH collected more than £1.5 million in car parking charges in the last financial year, according to new figures which emerged last month.

About a third of the amount collected by SaTH was paid by staff, with the remainder handed over by patients and visitors.

SaTH raked in £1,515,578 during 2016/17 – slightly less than in 2015/16 when £1,525,640 was made through car parking fees.

It was up from £1,289,302 taken by the trust in 2013/14.

The full council meeting will take place at Oakengates Theatre, Telford, on Thursday at 6pm.

Members of the public are invited to attend.