NHS staff – some of them on already low salaries – were forced to pay £46.7m over the last 12 months to simply park at work and care for their patients.
Figures released by the Liberal Democrat party showed the figure was eight times higher than the £5.6m paid in 2021/22.
The rise is largely due to the fact free parking initiatives that were introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic were brought to an end.
Patricia Marquis, director for England at the Royal College of Nursing, said the ‘unfair’ costs put patient care at risk; ‘For nursing staff and support workers, the soaring cost of parking takes too much of their low wage.
‘Nurses work around the clock to be there for their patients – and working odd shift times or in difficult locations means public transport is not always possible. District nurses even pay their own fuel costs to travel to patients.
‘Government and the NHS must rethink - leaving nursing staff out of pocket just for doing their jobs is wholly unfair.
‘Ministers need to invest in nursing, otherwise even more will leave this brilliant profession – and it will be patients who ultimately pay the price.'
Costs for hospital patients and their visitors were also on the rise with NHS Trusts making £145.8m from those parking charges – up by around 50% from £96.7 million in 2021/22 and more than three times than the £47.9 million made from 2020/21.
NHS guidance says disabled people, frequent outpatient attenders, parents of sick children staying overnight and staff working night shifts should park for free.
Costs should also be ‘reasonable for the area’ but discourage shoppers and other opportunists who park at hospitals despite not visiting.
Daisy Cooper, health and social care spokesman for the Liberal Democrats, said; 'Hospital car parking fees are becoming a tax on caring for visitors and our hard-working NHS staff.
'This Conservative Government is utterly failing to deliver on their promise to crack down on unfair hospital parking fees, and people are literally paying the price.'
And in response, the Tory’s said; 'The Conservatives have fulfilled their manifesto pledge to end unfair charges for those in greatest need. The Lib Dems should come clean as to which services they would cut to subsidise parking further.'
