Oxford hospital patients forking out millions for parking

Parking fees at sites like John Radcliffe Hospital are reinvested in services to "benefit patients", the trust says

A rise in the cost of hospital parking has prompted calls for better public transport options.

Oxford University Hospitals (OUH) NHS Foundation Trust earned about £2.5m from patient parking charges in 2023 - up from £1.5m the year before, latest NHS England figures show.

All money raised by parking fees was reinvested in services, the trust said.

But Oxford councillor Kieron Mallon felt people living rurally were given no choice but to drive and pay to park.

August 2023 saw visitor car parking tariffs change for the first time since 2017, according to the trust.

Prices at John Radcliffe Hospital, Churchill Hospital and Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre were increased for those staying longer, but reduced for short visits.

Charges at the trust's fourth site, Horton General Hospital in Banbury, remained the same because they were "similar to nearby public car parks".

It now costs £15 to park for over 6 hours - previously this was £7

The overall income generated by parking, which rose by £1m last year, prompted questions about whether patients were being forced to stump up large sums of money due to limited public transport options.

Conservative county councillor Kieron Mallon, shadow cabinet member for public health and inequalities, said: "Many people, particularly in rural and market towns, do not have access to public transport so have no choice but to drive to our hospitals."

Mr Mallon called on the Liberal Democrats and Labour group on the county council to invest more funds on public transport and "less on stupid anti-business, anti-car schemes" to address the issues, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

But Layla Moran, Liberal Democrat MP for Oxford West and Abingdon, said the money was necessary to support the public service.

"[The Conservative government's] consistent underfunding of our NHS has left it on its knees," she added.

Free and concessionary parking was available for people with disabilities, people on low income, and regular attenders, according to OUH's chief estates and facilities officer Mark Holloway.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said parking charges were needed to help manage capacity at NHS sites - but that fees charged must not be "significantly more than other hospitals in the local area".

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