Hospital trust is ‘taking advantage’ of disabled in parking charges

Almost half of all NHS hospital trusts in England charged disabled people to park in some or all of their disabled spaces last year.

Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs hospitals in Wakefield, Dewsbury and Pontefract, has again drawn criticism for introducing charges to blue badge holders earlier this year.

The trust collected almost £1million in parking charges in total in 2014/15, with more than half of that collected from its own staff.

Paula Sherriff, MP for Dewsbury, claims to have asked bosses to review the decision and assess how it impacts on patient ‘do not attend’ rates.

She said: “It just appears that they are taking advantage of the most vulnerable in society.”

When the policy was announced Mid Yorkshire said it hoped the move would help it invest in parking provision, while ensuring that blue badge holders paid less for parking than other groups.

Iain Brodie, facilities general manager at the trust, added: “The trust is committed to providing good and fair car parking to its sites for all our patients, visitors and staff.

“This includes providing car parking facilities that are priced fairly but with reasonable price adjustments to support the high access needs of some of our patients and visitors.”

He added that in the past year the trust has spent more than £1m on improving its car parking facilities.