Swindon hospital introduces new £300,000 parking plan

A £300,000 scheme to alleviate parking problems has been introduced at Swindon's Great Western Hospital.

The pay-and-display system has been replaced by a pay-on-exit scheme but parking charges will remain the same.

Staff parking has increased from £5 a month to £1 a day to promote car sharing and use of public transport.

But Mark Bagnall, the hospital's director of estates, said patients with ongoing treatment will be charged a concessionary price.

He said: "The wards will have a special allocation of tickets so that patients who have a series of treatments, and are here on a frequent basis, the ward will provide them with a ticket that will enable them to get out at a cost of £1 - rather than the cost of the number of hours that they've actually been here."

The scheme is designed to alleviate parking difficulties on site between 09:00 and 16:00 each day and includes an additional 50 parking spaces.