Patients and staff paying more for hospital parking

AT least one in four NHS trusts in England raised the cost of parking for either patients, staff or both in the two years to March 2024.

- Storm Newton

The hikes were slammed by a patients' charity as "unfairly penalising" those needing care, but health experts say trusts are "under huge financial pressure".

Some 37 trusts - 25% of the 147 in England - raised prices at some point between April 2022 and March 2024, the PA news agency found Freedom using Information requests.

While 122 of the 147 trusts responded to its Fol request, 25 did not, so the actual number who upped charges may be higher.

Sixty-five trusts, 44% of the national total, said there had been no increases.