Calls are being made for hospital car parking charges to be capped and then scrapped in Telford.
Mike Ion, Labour Party spokesperson for Wellington’s College Ward, has sent a letter to Princess Royal Hospital bosses asking for parking fees to be capped at £1 until 2012 and then ditched altogether.
He said: “For patients attending the PRH for out-patient treatment and visitors concerned with the health of their families worrying about the cost of parking is the last thing they need.
“Hospital procedures are notoriously unpredictable and having to rush out after a couple of hours to move their car will, in many cases, just not be possible.
“It is also the case that staff employed at the PRH frequently have to work long hours with different shift patterns and many need to travel to their place of work by car.
“Why should hard working public servants have to pay a set fee each year to be able to park their car at their place of work?
“I strongly believe that the Trust should think again about charging staff to park their car. It doesn’t happen in other workplaces and many staff find it a real burden.
“Wales and Scotland have already got rid of these charges and the sooner we end them here in England the better.”
Alan Millward, chairman of Shropshire National Association of League of Friends, said: “I go to hospitals all over the country and we at Shrewsbury and Telford are one of the cheapest NHS.
“I don’t think parking charges will ever go away. I wish they would get rid of them but I don’t think they ever will.”
Tom Taylor, chief executive of The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, said: “We haven’t received a letter yet, but we will always comply with NHS policy on car parking.
“A recent BBC Watchdog investigation found the Trust to have one the cheapest car parking rates in England, with discounts on offer for regular users.
“These services were also praised in a recent report by cancer charity MacMillan for making a real difference to the lives of patients by offering significant discounts.”
The hospital does offer a number of consessions for parking. To find out more visit the Trust’s website at www.sath.nhs.uk/finding_us/car_parking.asp