10% price hike for hospital parking

Visitors to our hospitals in Shrewsbury and Telford are being hit by a huge 10% price increase to park from November 2.

Due to the dismal health services provided on this side of the border, patients in the Welshpool area have little option but to use Shropshire hospitals, but we are now being clobbered with a whopping hike in parking prices.

An hour’s parking will cost a hefty £4.50, up from the current £4, while two hours will see visitors pay £6, a rise of 50p. A 24-hour stay will cost an eye-popping £10.45.

Increases are being applied across the board, with the frequent visit concession, which provides 10 visits over a period of three months, to almost double from £8.50 to £15 from December 1.

It’s another low blow for Montgomeryshire patients who are already facing a drastic cut in community hospital services proposed by Powys Teaching Health Board. That will include the downgrading of Welshpool Hospital.

However free parking concessions available to some patients and their relatives are unchanged and include Blue Badge holders, patients receiving renal dialysis or cancer treatment, those visiting the hospital in connection with bereavement and parents of children staying overnight in hospital.

The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust said that the money from parking is used to pay for the maintenance of the car parks, off-site car parking and the Park & Ride service.

The Trust has made a commitment that any surplus will be reinvested into further easing car parking and frontline services.

Parking in Welsh hospital car parks remains free.

The new parking charges from November 2:

Up to 20 minutes         Free

Up to 1 hour                £4.50 (up from £4)

Up to 2 hours              £6 (up from £5.50)

Up to 3 hours              £7.15 (up from £6.50)

Up to 4 hours              £8.25 (up from £7.50)

24 hours                      £10.45 (up from £9.50)

The Park & Ride service at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital will continue to operate, with the return fare remaining at £2.

Matt Neal, Group Chief Estates, Facilities and Capital Officer, said: “We are sorry that we have had to take the difficult decision to increase parking charges. We have aimed to keep increases as small as possible and protect the free parking concessions.

“We recognise that any increase in costs is difficult, particularly at a time when many people are facing financial pressures themselves. The money we receive from parking charges helps us maintain and improve car parking across our sites, as well as supporting the delivery of frontline services, at a time when costs across the NHS continue to rise.

“We know that car parking is an important issue for many of our patients and visitors and we will continue to invest in new ways to improve car parking across our sites. We will continue to listen to feedback to improve parking for everyone and are grateful for people’s support and understanding.

“We would also like to thank people who are using the Park and Ride service at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, which will remain £2 for patients. Wherever possible, we encourage people to consider alternative travel options available when using our sites.”

The Trust said it is “currently operating in a challenging financial environment, with rising costs requiring difficult decisions to be made about how money is used”.

However, the Trust said it recognises the importance of car parking for patients, visitors and staff and is continuing to look at ways to make better use of the parking available across its sites.

Improvements, it says, have already been made to additional staff parking at Telford, near the Ironbridge Suite. The Trust is also looking at how car parking at the Telford site can be reconfigured to make better use of the available parking capacity.

At Shrewsbury, the Trust is continuing to invest in and explore ways to increase the amount of parking available. This includes plans to demolish some old estate buildings and open additional car parking near the Copthorne building to create further parking capacity and make better use of the space available on the site.

The Trust also expects parking pressures at Shrewsbury to ease as the construction of the new hospital facilities through the Hospitals Transformation Programme progresses towards completion, with areas currently required to support construction activity becoming available again. 

The Trust is continuing to encourage patients and visitors to consider alternative travel options where possible. 

More than 2,000 patient and visitor journeys are now being made each week using the Park & Ride service for RSH. The service operates from Oxon Park & Ride and provides a convenient alternative to parking on site.