Anger at hospitals' £2.5m car parking charge 'profit'

Hospitals in South Tyneside and Sunderland have made £2.5million in 'profit' from charging patients and staff to park, new figures show.

- by Gazette Reporter

New NHS England figures show South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust - which runs South Tyneside District Hospital and Sunderland Royal Hospital - received around £2.6million from parking charges across its various sites in the year to March.

That was up by 13% on the £2.3million the previous year-with £1.4million from charging patients and visitors, and £1.2million from staff.

Across England, trusts received £271million from parking charges, a 12% increase on 2023-24. The data also shows the cost of administering NHS car parks rose by nine per cent, a slower rate than the income they generated.

The data shows that, nationally, the NHS spent £84million administering parking, giving it a total net income of £187million.