Hospitals flout government crackdown against ‘taxing the sick’ by INCREASING rip-off parking charges

ONE in three hospitals has ignored a Government crackdown and hiked rip-off parking charges in the past year, figures show.

Patients’ groups, charities and MPs yesterday accused greedy hospital leaders of “taxing the sick” with fees of up to £4 an hour.

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Some NHS trusts have made more than £3million a year from car parking fees, with around 50 pocketing at least £1million.

The average rise for a one hour stay was 15 per cent last year, according to data supplied to NHS Digital by 209  trusts.  It comes despite Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt saying the Government wants to “help hospitals do all they can to reduce this burden on patients and families”.

Labour MP Khalid Mahmood, who has campaigned against “excessive charges”, said: “These fees are disgraceful and account for a huge chunk of some patients’ income.

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“I hear of people who are forced to choose between eating, heating their homes or visiting sick relatives.”

Macmillan Cancer Support added that patients often cannot use public transport and are therefore left out of pocket just by travelling for life-saving treatment.

The Royal Surrey County Hospital in Guildford, which charges  £4 for any stay up to two hours, is the most expensive in the country.

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At the other end of the scale, the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre in Wirral is free.

England is the only part of the UK where hospitals routinely charge for parking.

NHS trusts have defended their charges, saying money is put back into patient care or spent on maintaining car parks and grounds.

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But a Department of Health spokesperson said: “Though the majority of  hospital sites do not charge, we expect all NHS organisations to follow our guidelines on  parking and put concessions in place for those who most need help, including the disabled, carers and staff.”