THE return of car parking charges for NHS staff at Salisbury District Hospital has been described by one employee as “a slap in the face”.

This comes after Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust revealed the fees would return from April 1, due to changes in central funding.

In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, back in March of 2020, parking charges were suspended for NHS staff, volunteers and social care workers, a scheme implemented by the Local Government Association.

The prices are set to return in Salisbury from next week however, with charges dependent on job role and band.

A hospital worker, who asked to remain anonymous, told the Journal that the update to parking charges was embedded within a weekly email to staff, adding: “It kind of felt like ‘by the way car parking charges are coming back’, so people are really put out.

“This will be an unpopular decision but there’s been no mitigation and people are upset .

"Really it’s just a slap in the face.”

The member of staff added that it was often “a struggle” to find a car parking space onsite if arriving after 8.45am, regardless of parking costs.

“You end up having to park on the road or pavement sometimes,” they said.

“It’s not great when we need a space and can’t find one, and now we’ll need to pay again, it’s really bad.”

In response to concerns, Stacey Hunter, chief executive of Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Last week I had to announce that due to changes to central funding we would regretfully be reintroducing staff car parking charges from April 1.

“The executive team has listened to the feedback from colleagues and has agreed to make a change that we hope will mitigate the impact for some of our staff.

“Therefore, from April 1 all staff working in pay bands 3 and 4 will now be placed in the lowest bracket for monthly parking charges.

“In July when an automatic number plate recognition system is in place at the hospital, we will be able to have 12 different monthly rates that will reflect all pay points.”

Parking for up to two hours in one of the hospital's public car parks is £2.70, up to four hours is £4.50, up to six hours is £6.50 and up to 24 hours is £8.

“Some have spoken to line managers about this [parking concerns] but lots of people are unhappy,” the hospital employee added.

“It’s just because Covid-19 is 'over', but we have our own mini pandemic here. This will be hard for a lot of people.

"We work here because we enjoy it and like to help people, but this is something we shouldn't have to worry about when we get to work."

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