THE Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (HHFT) raised almost two million pounds through patients and visitors to park last year, figures reveal.

NHS Digital data shows HHFT made £1,885,301 through parking charges and penalty fines in the year to March 2020.

Of that £1,840,691 was paid by patients and visitors and £44,610 paid by staff. 

Julie Maskery, chief operating officer, Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said:“Hampshire Hospitals manages its car parks internally and all revenues raised from the public either go towards the maintenance and security of our parking facilities or is re-invested to support patient care.

“Staff are not charged for parking, and charging for patients is not universal and there are a number of exceptions – for instance for patients receiving chemotherapy or for parents staying with children who are inpatients. The full list can be found on our website.

“We are proud to offer free parking for our staff and to also invest in off-site provisions for staff such as the Park and Ride in Winchester and inter-site transport.”

Patients' rights campaigners the Patients Association said while billing people to park at NHS car parks is a "charge on people who are unwell," it provides much-needed income for trusts at a time when their finances are under pressure.

Across England, NHS trusts raised £289m from parking charges – nearly a third of which came from staff parking, generating £90m over the year.

The figures represent the gross income earned by the NHS and do not take into account its own costs for providing car parking.

All the Hampshire hospital sites provide 30 minutes free parking, after that charges range from £1.80 for an hour to £10 for 24 hours.

Free parking is available for the following patients and visitors at all three of the hospitals:

  • Patients attending for chemotherapy
  • Patients/visitors attending every day after one week of attendance
  • Outpatients who have been attending for more than two weeks and continue to attend at least twice a week with the same illness or condition
  • Visitors to patients being cared for in the Intensive Care Unit or the neonatal unit
  • Visitors to inpatients whose stay in hospital has been more than one week, providing they are visiting every day
  • Visitors to inpatients whose stay in hospital has been more than two weeks, providing they are visiting at least twice per week
  • Carers staying overnight with children who are inpatients
  • Relatives or carers of patients who are receiving end of life care
  • Disabled badge holders

A spokesman for the Department of Health and Social Care said: "In March, the Government committed to making hospital car parking free for NHS staff for the duration of the pandemic and is providing additional money to NHS trusts to cover the cost of implementing this.

"Any surplus income generated from hospital car parks not used to fund the provision of car parking, such as security and maintenance, must be reinvested into frontline care."