Hospital car parking charges to increase

The increase affects Wolverhampton's New Cross Hospital, Cannock Chase Hospital, and Walsall Manor Hospital

Car parking charges are to increase for visitors and patients at two Black Country NHS Trusts.

The rise came into force on Tuesday at New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton and Cannock Chase Hospital. From Monday 21 July, it will come into effect at Walsall Manor Hospital.

The additional money raised will be put back into the trusts running the sites - Royal Wolverhampton and Walsall Healthcare.

The applied increases range from 20p to £1 depending on the length of the stay, although existing concessionary arrangements will continue, according to bosses.

A stay of one, two, three and four hours will now cost £3.50, £4.50, £5 and £6 respectively - a hike, in each instance, of 20p. Stays of between four and five hours will cost £6.30, and stays of between five and seven hours will cost £7 - a respective increase of 50p and £1 compared to previous rates for those stays.

A new tariff of £10 has been introduced for stays of between eight and 24 hours.

Fees continue to be waived for anyone using the car parks for 15 minutes or fewer.

Disabled parking will remain free of charge and concessionary passes are still being made available for patients undergoing regular treatment such as chemotherapy, or for parents of babies in the neonatal unit.

The NHS trusts said number plate recognition systems were being used across both trusts, adding the last increase to charges was more than a year ago.

Gwen Nuttall, managing director at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, said: "We appreciate any increase is going to affect people using our services and we have avoided doing this for as long as possible.

"But we do have to introduce these slight increases in line with other costs that are rising that the Trust has to meet."

Ms Nuttall also said the trust was improving its car parks by looking at how to offer payment by app.

"Our teams also offer many more phone and video consultations, where appropriate, so fewer patients are having to travel and incur charges," she said.

"This is also having an effect on our clinics, meaning those for whom a face to face appointment is necessary are having shorter waits and report a more efficient service."