Tax on caring

50% parking hike for patients & visitors | Charges for staff rise 734% in one year

- DAVE BURKE

RISHI Sunak has been accused of failing to deliver a Tory manifesto pledge to scrap unfair hospital parking fees, instead imposing a "tax on caring" as charges rocket.

While the Scottish and Welsh governments have axed hospital parking fees, patients and visitors in England last year spent £146million on the charges - £400,000 every day and a rise of 50% on the previous year.

At the same time, fees paid by hospital staff rose 734%, from £5.6m to £46.7m, leading to warnings that the costs could force medics to leave.

The increases came after parking charges scrapped during the Covid pandemic were brought back in March.

Analysis of NHS England figures by the Lib Dems uncovered the increases amid fears fees could go up further as hospitals try to balance the books.