Renewed calls for government action against ‘unfair’ hospital parking prices

This is no surprise since, according to data from car finance company Moneybarn, some hospitals charge visitors up to £7 to park for two hours. Coventry University Hospital, for example, which falls under the aforementioned University Hospitals of Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, charges £5 for two hours of parking.

Visitors to Yeovil District Hospital in Somerset are being charged up to £5.40, while it will cost them £4 for two hours of parking at Frimley Park Hospital in Farnborough. As you might expect, the most expensive hospital to park in is in London, with Chelsea and Westminster hospitals charging £7 for two hours of parking.

Then there’s Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge which charges £5.30 for two hours of parking. However, given its car parks have 2,217 spaces, this means Cambridge University Hospital Trust could raise up to £11,750 every two hours.

At the time of writing, 45 hospitals offer free parking for all. Under government guidance for NHS trusts, Blue Badge holders and parents of sick children who need to stay overnight should be given free parking, while outpatients who need to return for appointments three times per month for at least three months should also be allowed to park for free. .