Union slams Harrogate NHS Trust over 'kick in the teeth' decision to reintroduce parking charges

A union has slammed Harrogate District Hospital's decision to reintroduce all parking charges from next week as a "kick in the teeth" for NHS workers.
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The trust which runs the hospital has announced fees will be brought back in from 23 September after being paused to support staff, patients and visitors at the height of the pandemic.

It has sparked a furious response from the GMB union which has warned some low-paid health workers simply can not afford to pay for the charges which it claimed can tot up to £1,300 a year.

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Ben Kirkham, the union's regional organiser, said: "To reintroduce sky high charges while the virus is still being fought is an utter disgrace, it is a further snub to the immense efforts of staff across the country and the sacrifices they continue to make to keep others safe.

The trust which runs Harrogate District Hospital has announced fees will be brought back in from 23 SeptemberThe trust which runs Harrogate District Hospital has announced fees will be brought back in from 23 September
The trust which runs Harrogate District Hospital has announced fees will be brought back in from 23 September

"The hospital trust and local government are blatantly cashing in as if its business as usual returning to these outrageous practices caused by the Tory's underfunding of our NHS."

The government promised at the start of the outbreak that it would cover the costs of hospital car parking for health workers "going above and beyond every day", but ministers then said it could not continue indefinitely.

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The Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust has admitted on its website the move to reintroduce charges was always going to be "unwelcome" one, but added it is needed to free up parking spaces.

It said: "For a few weeks now, we’ve been receiving feedback from patients and visitors who have told us about the challenges they’ve had finding a parking space on site.

"Parking has always been a challenge for both patients and colleagues, and there is no easy solution to this. However, we do have to prioritise much of the limited parking we have for patients who need to come to hospital.

"We know that this will be unwelcome, but we trust you understand the reasons for why we are reintroducing parking charges."

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Councillor Geoff Webber, leader of the Liberal Democrats on North Yorkshire County Council, had previously made calls for free parking for staff to be continued indefinitely and has now said he is "very disappointed" with the decision.

He said: "This takes no account of the unsocial hours worked by staff, particularly during the current pandemic, and the high levels of stress that they are subjected to."

From Wednesday, September 23, car parking charges for patients, visitors and staff will be reintroduced.

The car parks will be assigned as they were prior to the pandemic, with the top level of the main car park reverting back to being for patients and visitors and staff parking no longer permitted.

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All staff car parks on site will be available with a permit at the usual monthly rate.

In Scotland, parking charges at three hospitals have been scrapped, while parking at all NHS hospitals in Wales has been free since 2018.

The Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust added: "Parking at hospitals will always be a challenge and there is never going to be one solution that everyone is happy with.

"But we have to do this to make parking as stress-free as possible for our patients and visitors, protecting spaces for them; and to make the benefit of staff car parking as fair as possible."

By Jacob Webster, Local Democracy Reporter