Hospital staff working for the biggest NHS trust in Sussex paid more than £2.5 million to park at work in the past year, according to a trade union.
The GMB said that the cost hit low-paid staff the hardest as it cited figures published by NHS Digital on Thursday (19 December).
The union said that the trust that runs the Royal Sussex County Hospital, in Brighton, Worthing Hospital and St Richard’s, in Chichester, earned more from staff car parking charges than any other in the south east.
The figures also showed that the trust, University Hospitals Sussex, made almost £1.4 million from patient and visitor parking charges. Disabled parking is free.
The trust has said previously that it had to ration the limited number of parking bays and cover the annual six-figure cost of managing parking spaces at a time when its finances are stretched.
The cost of parking for hospital staff has become a hot topic over the past few years, with many starting or finishing work at unsocial hours and lacking realistic public transport options.
On the same day, former Liberal Democrat election candidate Robert Brown asked Brighton and Hove City Council to look at parking permit options for hospital staff in the Kemp Town area of Brighton.
He said that NHS workers had t pay more than £50 a week to park in the area near the Royal Sussex, the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital and the Sussex Eye Hospital.
On taking office in May last year, Labour reviewed and overturned parking charge increases that had been due to take effect in the streets around the Royal Sussex. The party criticised the previous Green administration for having proposed the increases.
Labour has since announced a city-wide parking review which is expected to look at this and other complaints.
