BARNSLEY Hospital made more almost £1.5m in profit from charging patients and staff to park over the latest 12-month period, it has been revealed.
New figures released by NHS England show the trust received around £1.7m from parking charges across its various sites.
This was made up of £1.2m from charging patients and visitors, and £479,000 from staff.
Across England, trusts received £271m from parking charges, a 12 per cent increase on 2023/24.
At Barnsley Hospital income from parking increased by eight per cent from £1.5m a year earlier.
Brian Morton, associate director for employment relations at the Royal College of Nursing, said: “For nursing staff, the cost of parking takes too much of their pay.
“Staff are having to pay to park at work and can even be hit with fines when they stay late caring for their patients.
“This simply cannot be right.
“Staff work around the clock to be there for their patients - and working odd shift times, means using public transport is not always possible.
“Trust leaders must do more to provide free parking for staff and not leave them out of pocket just for coming to work.”
The data also shows the cost of administering NHS car parks rose by nine per cent, a slower rate than the income they generated.
Nationally, the NHS spent £84m administering parking, giving it a total net income of £187m.
Managing parking cost Barnsley Hospital a total of £205,000, meaning overall it gave it a net income of £1.5m.
Sharon Wilde, national officer at the GMB said: “When the charges have risen faster that the cost of maintaining the car parks, it looks like the worst kind of profiteering.
“Health workers deal with punishing workloads and chronic understaffing - they need help and support.
“Paying to park while performing vital, life-saving work feels like the ultimate kick in the teeth.”
A spokesperson for Barnsley Facilities Services (BFS) said changes to car parking charges had been introduced for patients and visitors at the trust last October.
The spokesperson added: “Changes are now essential to ensure the trust can cover the many costs associated with running and maintaining car parks.
“The income generated from car parking fees is re-invested into the general upkeep and essential maintenance of the car parks, and other key areas of the hospital as required, to improve the overall patient experience.
“Whilst it’s widely acknowledged that this comes at a time when it is already increasingly difficult financially for many, the increase has been kept to a minimum, and is still comparable with tariffs from other local trusts in the region.
“Parking also remains free of charge for certain groups such as Blue Badge holders.”
