Parking charges 'regularly reviewed' at New Cross Hospital

Gwen Nuttall, chief operating officer at the trust which runs New Cross Hospital, was questioned about the return of parking charges for patients at the hospital.

She acknowledged that patients and visitors were now being forced to pay for parking but stressed charges were continuously reviewed.

It comes after the Express & Star revealed disabled patients and parents of sick children were facing different rules on parking charges depending on which hospital they visit.

Russells Hall Hospital in Dudley introduced free parking for certain patient groups following an announcement from the Government last year, but others in the Black Country and Staffordshire have not.

Russells Hall has scrapped parking charges for blue badge patients and the parents of sick children staying overnight, while frequent attendees are given concessions.

Suffering

However, other NHS trusts in the region say they are awaiting further guidance from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) before bringing in any free parking.

Parking remains free for NHS staff across the board.

A question put to Ms Nuttall by a member of the public at the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust's annual general meeting suggested parking should still be free as many people are suffering financially as a result of the pandemic.

She said: "The reality is we are trying to make sure as few people come to hospital as possible.

"Clearly there are some who have to come to the site. We have reintroduced car parking charges but we review that on a monthly basis to make sure they are proportionate."

The Department of Health and Social Care has said trusts were expected to begin introducing free parking for certain groups from April this year.

Free parking for these groups will become "mandatory" from January, it said.