Southampton General Hospital makes more than a million out of staff parking, figures reveals

New figures released by the NHS show the trust made £1.12 million in the year to March from charges and penalty fines incurred by NHS workers parking across all its sites.

However, hospital bosses have defended the sum, which they say reflects “the size of the organisation” and demonstrates the “large and increasing number of staff”.

According to the trust, 11,500 staff members deal with around nearly 960,000 patients a year.

Southampton General Hospital

It comes as NHS trusts across England made a combined total of almost £70 million from staff parking charges over the same period.

The figures also reveal the University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital, made a further £2.6 million from parking charges paid by patients and visitors, bringing their total income to £3.7 million.

The figures were criticised by Coxford ward councillor Keith Morrell, who said the hospital should only be using parking funds to pay for parking provision.

The news comes around a month after plans were approved for a 1,010-vehicle temporary park and ride on the edge of Southampton, which will be used by hospital staff.

Situated in Nursling, the site will only be used for four years, with plans for a permanent site due to be submitted later this year.

The Adanac Park facility will be exclusively for hospital workers, which could go someway to easing traffic misery on roads surrounding the hospital.

 

Southampton City Council health chief Cllr Dave Shields gave his backing to the plans, which he branded as “a great idea”.

Cllr Shields said: “I wish people would do an awful lot more to improve public transport. People who live near the hospital get quite fed up of the parking in the streets near the hospital.”

He added a public transport network similar that connecting Southampton University with areas of student accommodation would be a good model for the hospital to follow.

Cllr Morrell also gave his support to the plans, saying they are “well overdue” and could help ease pollution in the city.

 

Across England, almost £157 million was raised from charges incurred by patients and visitors.

The figures represent the gross income earned by the NHS and do not take into account its own costs for providing car parking.

Unite, a union which represents around 100,000 health workers, has slammed the “scandalous” figures, which it said amounted to a “tax on hard-pressed” employees.

Sarah Carpenter, national officer for health, said: “It is a scandal that NHS trusts in England have pocketed nearly £70m from staff car parking charges.

“Such a large figure will take a large chunk out of the gains in the current NHS pay package which saw most staff get a pay rise of 6.5% over the next three years.

“This pernicious trend is replicated by financially squeezed trusts across England – our members are being used as an extra income stream.”

A spokeswoman for NHS Improvement said income generated was used to pay the costs of providing parking, while excess funds were put into clinical services. She continued: “As we develop the long-term plan for the NHS, it is right that trusts continue to develop their commercial income opportunities.”

Figures for the Solent NHS Trust, which also operates services in the area, show it made £29,000 out of staff parking charges and fines. It declined to comment.

 

A spokesman for University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust said: “These figures reflect the size of the organisation and demonstrate the large and increasing number of staff, patients and visitors who are using our car parks rather than the cost of a ticket, which is comparable with similar hospital trusts.

“We offer a wide range of concessions for patients, particularly those receiving long-term treatment, as well as the option of purchasing seven, 14 or 30-day tickets which bring charges down considerably, while refunds are available for some patients and visitors who receive certain benefits.

“For staff, those who have a permit for full on-site parking pay a monthly fee linked to their pay band, with a number of other options available that can reduce the cost of parking and the volume of traffic on our sites, such as a discounted car share scheme and nearby park and ride facilities.

“Any revenue from charges which is not allocated to upkeep, security or improvement of our car parks is invested directly into supporting frontline patient services, while revenue from enforcement is used to develop parking facilities and sustainable travel services.”