The Trust that runs Scarborough Hospital earned £2m from patient and visitor parking charges last year.
Between 2023 and 2024, the York and Scarborough Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust earned more than £2.2m from staff, patient, and visitor parking charges and made a profit of £1.9m.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) asked why, despite continuing cost of living pressures, the York and Scarborough Trust had increased charges at sites in Scarborough and York.
The increases were made in the two years leading up to March 2024 as part of the installation of automatic number plate registrations.
A spokesperson said:
“As a Trust we are not funded to provide free parking for staff or visitors, and without charging parking fees money would need to be taken away from other areas of the hospital and essential services.
“The revenue from car parking supports the running and maintenance of the car park, and also security on the site. Income from car park charges is also invested in improving car park facilities and alternatives to car use.”
In Scarborough, one hour increased by 25p to £1.45, two hours increased by 40p to £2.90 and in York up to one hour increased by 30p to £2.50, with a 60p increase for two hours to £5.
In Bridlington, stays of up to an hour were 20p cheaper at £1. Stays of two, three and four hours remained the same and an all-day pass was made 60p cheaper at £5.40.
In 2023-24, the cost of parking services to the Trust was £364,000 covering its more than 2,400 available parking spaces.
Staff parking charges amounted to more than £200,000 and it earned £2m from patient and visitor parking charges.
Last year, the Patients Association charity criticised increased parking charges for
“unfairly penalising people simply for being unwell and needing access to essential healthcare”.
Speaking to the LDRS, the Trust spokesperson emphasised that its parking charges reflected those charged in local council-run car parks and that there were “a large number of concessions” available for people who were visiting regularly or for long periods of time.
They added:
“Details can be found on our website – we also provide subsidised parking for staff onsite.”
Details on parking, concessions, and travel to the Trust’s sites can be found at https://www.yorkhospitals.nhs.uk/coming-into-hospital/travel/
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