A HOSPITAL trust has raised more than £2 million from patients and visitors car parking charges as well as £950,000 in staff car parking fees.

Data from NHS Digital has revealed figures on the amount of income hospital trusts have received from car parking charges for both staff and visitors.

It shows the East Suffolk and North Essex Trust, which runs Colchester Hospital, made around £3.4 million through parking charges and penalty fines in the year to March 2020.

Of that, £2.4 million was paid by patients and visitors, while £951,051 came in through charging staff to park.

The figures reveal patients and visitors paid an average hourly rate of £1.33 at the most expensive of the trust’s six sites, while staff dug out 14p per hour at the priciest spot.

Across England, NHS trusts raised £289 million from parking charges – nearly a third of which came from staff parking.

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Trade union GMB said it is “sickening” that nurses, midwives and cleaners in many trusts across the country have had to shell out money to park at their place of work, as it called on ministers to scrap parking charges for workers altogether.

Last year, a new 153 space staff car park at Colchester Hospital was created.

The car park extension replaced 128 spaces which have been lost as part of the the addition of an urgent treatment centre at the site.

Paul Fenton, director of estates and facilities, said: “The money raised from parking charges goes back into patient care, which includes maintaining and improving our car parks for the many people who travel to our hospitals by car.

“We offer free car parking to patients who have frequent appointments and visitors who come to see their loved ones on a daily basis, although general visiting remains suspended across our hospitals at this time due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“Parking is also currently free for all staff and will be until the pandemic comes to a close.”