Cash from patients, visitors and staff at hospitals in the region totalled £2.41m during 2018/19.

The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, which runs Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and Princess Royal Hospital in Telford, received £1.38m from visitors and patients – up from £1.12m in 2017/18.

Fees for staff totalled £611,843 in 2018/19, a rise from £517,033 in the previous year.

Meanwhile, the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, which manages the hospital near Oswestry, received £421,270 from parking fees in the last financial year.

Vote in our poll:

A total of £341,382 came from patients and visitors, and £79,888 from staff.

There was also a rise from 2017/18 when patient and visitor parking fees brought the trust income of £293,219, and £67,969 for staff.

Parking costs £8 a day at SaTH, although it is free for the first 20 minutes and patients and visitors pay between £3 and £6 for parking up to five hours.

The cost at RJAH is £2.50 a day.

The figures have been released by NHS Digital.

The charges have been called scandalous by Unite, a union which represents thousands of health workers.

Unite national officer for health Jackie Williams said: “This is a running sore of a national scandal which exploits dedicated NHS staff , and often distressed patients and visitors as captive milch cows.

“Income from parking charges has leapt by 24 per cent in the last year while NHS workers have endured a decade of below inflation pay awards from Tory ministers which underlines the glaring unfairness of the present situation.”

Reinvested

Income raised from hospital car parking in Shropshire is reinvested into patient care, bosses have said.

Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital in Gobowen, says it does its best to minimise the cost of using the car park by offering regular users the option to purchase a weekly or 10 visit car parking ticket.

It also promotes a car share scheme to staff.

Phil Davies, head of estates and facilities at RJAH, said: “Car parking is the first point of contact for the many users of our services and we are committed to maintaining quality standards that mirror our patient care.

"The revenue generated in our car parks is fully reinvested back into our services.

“For convenience we have also recently introduced a number of new car parking spaces in locations that benefit both patients and staff to further improve the overall experience."

The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, which runs Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and Princess Royal Hospital in Telford, says its car parking charges are among the lowest in the country.

It says it also reinvests the revenue generated back into patient care, with public parking paying for the equivalent of 40 nurses.

The money is also used to help manage its car parks.

A spokesman for the trust added: "Visitors are able to park at our hospitals for up to 20 minutes without paying a fee to enable them to drop off and pick up patients, which we would encourage everyone to do to leave spaces free for visitors who have no alternative but to bring their car.

"Patients receiving dialysis, radiotherapy or chemotherapy, and people visiting hospital for issues connected with bereavement, can park for free.

"Anyone needing to attend hospital regularly can buy a discounted 10-visit ticket for £8 which is valid for three months and has no time restrictions or limits; whilst patients on low incomes, who are in receipt of benefits, can also claim back the cost of their parking.

“We are continuing to work hard to make alternatives to the car more attractive for patients, visitors and staff – and most recently we have introduced more cycle shelters and an extra bus stop at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital."

SaTH says it has also worked with Arriva to offer discounted bus fares for staff and has a LiftShare scheme with over 400 staff signed up.

There are dedicated LiftShare parking spaces to encourage colleagues to travel together and it also runs a staff cycle-to-work scheme.

The British Medical Association, however, says hospitals should have sufficient investment where they 'do not feel the need to charge such expensive parking fees'.

A BMA spokesman said: “It is unacceptable that patients and indeed, relatives and friends visiting loved ones in hospital, should be inconvenienced by what can be expensive, and for some, unaffordable parking charges.

“This too is true of staff, many of whom are regularly working long shifts caring for patients, and are having to pay significant amounts simply to go to work as often there is little option available."