HOSPITAL staff will be expected to pay for parking following updates from the hospital trust.

Funding was provided by the Government to the tune of £130 million from March 2020 to support NHS Trusts to provide free parking for all staff during the pandemic.

This is now coming to an end and NHS staff at Colchester Hospital will have to pay daily to park there.

The charges started yesterday and they will be billed at the start of June.

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The East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust said staff will pay a rate based on 0.4 per cent of their salary for parking each month.

For a band 5 registered nurse the daily charge will be 48 pence.

Paul Fenton, director of estates and facilities at ESNEFT, said: “In accordance with new guidance issued last year, we will continue to provide free car parking for those colleagues who are in greatest need, including our staff who work overnight.

“Park and ride services in both Colchester and Ipswich will also be free for staff to use for the foreseeable future.

“We provide healthcare to nearly 10,000 people every day across ESNEFT. The money raised from parking charges goes back into patient care, which includes maintaining and improving our car parks.”