PARKING fees at Rugby’s hospital will rise by up to 8.5 per cent due to ‘tougher financial pressures’.
The Hospital of St Cross announced it could no longer afford to maintain prices at current levels without taking money from its healthcare budget.
From July, the rate for three hours of parking will go up from £1.60 to £1.70. A stay of between five and 24 hours will cost £7.60, up by 60p.
Patients having blood tests will still be allowed 30 minutes free parking, and the 3-5 hour rate will remain at £4.30.
Concessions will remain for renal dialysis patients and patients who have to attend multiple times.
It is the first rise since April 2014 for the car parks of the Barby Road hospital, which unlike some others are not supported by private funding.
Running costs include maintenance, lighting and staffing.
Lincoln Dawkin, Director of Estates for the University Hospitals Coventry and Warwicksire Trust, said: “We know that parking is an emotive issue for a lot of our patients and visitors. However, we are unfortunately now in a position where the car parking charges need to be increased.
“The NHS is under financial pressure and we are unfortunately now in a position where the Trust can no longer afford to maintain the prices at the same levels without taking money from budgets earmarked for patient care.
“We will continue to provide free parking for people who visit the hospital regularly such as people having kidney dialysis or blood tests.
“We have not raised car parking prices in over two years. I hope our local community can see this has been a difficult decision, which has been taken so we can continue to make improvements to the Hospital of St Cross site for all our patients and visitors.”
