A DECISION to increase parking charges at Arrowe Park Hospital has caused an outcry.

The cost to leave your car at Wirral's main emergency hospital for more than 20 minutes has rocketed this week from £2.50 to £3.20.

Hospital chiefs defended the move blaming "significant financial challenges" on the NHS for the rise.

But patients and their families branded the move "shameful" and "daylight robbery."

A spokesman for Wirral Hospital Trust told the Globe a review of car parking and public transport has taken place: “The trust benchmarked its car parking charges against other local providers and the local authority and undertook an equality impact assessment.

“Following this review, the trust increased charges to visits to £3.20.

"These changes will not affect the 20 minutes afforded to all visitors using any of the trust’s parking facilities.”

There is a 300-space car park at Arrowe Park Hospital, free for up to three-and-a-half-hours.

But Clatterbridge Hospital has no free car park, meaning anyone staying there for more than 20 minutes will have to pay £3.20.

Neighbouring hospitals have also increased their parking charges in recent months, but do not operate a flat fee like Arrowe Park.

St Helens and Whiston Hospitals give visitors 20 minutes free parking before then charging £1 for up to an hour, £2 for up to two hours and so on.

Parking is free for the first 30 minutes at the Countess of Chester Hospital, before people are then charged £3 for up to five hours.

At Broadgreen Hospital, visitors are charged £2.40 for up to two hours and £2.90 for up to four hours.

Liverpool Women’s Hospital charges £2.30 for 20 minutes to two hours and £3 for two to four hours.

People took to the Globe’s Facebook page to express their views on the increase, with one describing it as “daylight robbery”.

Helen Wray wrote: “Sometimes in an emergency you don’t have any money with you.”

Enid Karla Marl said: "Should not charge for hospital parking it is a disgrace - to put the prices up further is despicable. Come on, have a heart."

Alex Hiles said: "Why not try and make more money they need it which means the public do too. If you're that bothered park a bit further away for free and just walk."

Allan Brame, from Birkenhead’s Liberal Democrats, said: “This increase seems to have come without warning. The first many hospital visitors knew about it was seeing a small sign at the car park exit.

“Before the election we heard Conservative MPs talking about parking charges being a ‘stealth tax’ and saying people should not be charged for being ill, but now they have got five years in power, this is just another one to add to the growing list of broken promises.”

The hospital spokesman added: “Given the significant financial challenges across all NHS hospitals and our determination to provide the very best health care services we have had to review all of our finances.

“This increase in our car parking prices is the first for five years and, even at the new rate, they remain one of the lowest for any hospital trust in the North West and among the lowest in this country.

“We’re committed to providing accessible facilities for all of our patients and visitors, which for many means access to on-site car parking.

“Inevitably there are costs associated with providing this facility and car parking charges are used to cover this cost.”

Free or concession parking is offered for patients and visitors with a disability; patients and their families who need to attend more than twice a week for two weeks or more; relatives of terminally ill patients and relatives of patients in intensive care, the high dependency unit, neonatal unit and paediatric wards.

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