Visitors parking at Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill Hospital are set to have to pay more from next week. Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust says it is the first time it has reviewed parking fees at its sites in nine years with some charges set to almost double from Monday, September 1.
The cost of up to one hour of parking is set to increase from £2 to £3.40, while between one and two hours of parking will be increased from £3 to £5.60 – an almost 90 per cent rise. The pricing structure of longer stays will also change. It currently costs £5 to park for between two and 24 hours but the new system will see this split into two brackets with the following rates:
- 2-4 hours – £6.30
- 4-24 hours – £7
In justifying the changes, the NHS Trust said: “Our security teams deal with an average of 852 incidents every month, ranging from violence and assaults to antisocial behaviour and theft. They also help us to support vulnerable patients and work closely with Humberside Police to help prevent and detect crime.
“We’re able to provide this service thanks to the funding generated from our onsite car parks. However, the cost of this service, along with our maintenance and lighting costs, are rising. To continue to meet these costs, we need to increase our charges too.”
There are also set to be changes to the cost of short-term parking permits which allow people to regularly visit the hospitals for a certain period of time.
From Monday, the first week’s parking will be charged at £35, then £7 per week for every subsequent week. This means four weeks would cost £56 rather than the previous £20 for a month-long permit.
Parking will remain free for a number of groups. This includes Blue Badge holders, patients receiving cancer treatment, the parents and guardians of children staying in hospital overnight, the parents, guardians, and next of kin of those receiving palliative care.
Patients who need to attend regular outpatient appointments may also be eligible to claim back the cost of their parking and full details about those who are eligible and how to claim are on the Trust’s website.
By: Andrew Spence, LDRS
