Shropshire hospitals net £6,000 in fines
More than 1,000 parking tickets were issued to visitors at Shropshire's two main hospitals in just one year leading to almost £6,000 in fines, new figures have revealed.More than 1,000 parking tickets were issued to visitors at Shropshire's two main hospitals in just one year leading to almost £6,000 in fines, new figures have revealed. And the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust revealed 19 complaints were made about parking at sites in 2008/09. The car parks as a whole generated income of nearly £800,000. The figures were revealed in a national survey by consumer group Which? who collected data from 126 NHS trusts and hospitals in England. A Which? spokeswoman said the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust featured favourably in the survey with results in the top half of its league table. Figures for the trust showed 1,150 parking charge notices were issued and that led to penalties of £5,890. Read more in the Shropshire Star
More than 1,000 parking tickets were issued to visitors at Shropshire's two main hospitals in just one year leading to almost £6,000 in fines, new figures have revealed.
And the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust revealed 19 complaints were made about parking at sites in 2008/09.
The car parks as a whole generated income of nearly £800,000.
The figures were revealed in a national survey by consumer group Which? who collected data from 126 NHS trusts and hospitals in England.
A Which? spokeswoman said the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust featured favourably in the survey with results in the top half of its league table.
Figures for the trust showed 1,150 parking charge notices were issued and that led to penalties of £5,890.
The car parks generated income of £793,000 during 2008/09, the survey found.
Trust spokesman Adrian Osborne said: "These surveys help us to understand how our car parking arrang- ements compare with other NHS hospitals in England.
"Alongside the useful feedback we receive from patients, visitors and staff it helps us to decide how we can continue to improve hospital travel and parking arrangements.
"We also need to support people to use alternatives to travelling by car where appropriate, such as the new cycling facilities launched at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital in March.
"We have also launched a LiftShare website for staff to help them make contact with colleagues and share lifts to work."
The survey asked how hospitals manage their sites with the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust pointing out it did not clamp cars to control parking and the standard parking charge is £2 for 24 hours.
According to the Which? survey, Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust in Surrey was the top clamper in 2008/9, clamping 1,671 cars. The trust made £1.85 million profit from its car park, the study said.
Meanwhile, Leeds General Infirmary issued 10,330 fines, generating £142,000.
Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust in Hertfordshire had the highest minimum charge in England £4 for two hours of parking.
