NURSES at a Wirral hospital are frustrated after being given fines for parking in its car park.

One nurse was penalised yesterday for using the patient car park at Arrowe Park Hospital, as the staff car park was full.

Another was punished for parking on criss-crossed lines within the staff car park last Thursday, which she felt she had to do for the same reason.

Both Arrowe Park nurses, who wished to remain anonymous, felt the fines were harsh given the immense effort they are going to in the fight against coronavirus.

The staff member who used the patient car park said she has been given a £70 fine and was "gutted" to receive it.

The nurse said she understands she should not have parked in the patient car park, but was in a rush to get in for her shift and was not able to park her car again until the afternoon.

The issue seems to be that parking on hospital staff car parks has been made free for NHS workers due to the pandemic, following national NHS guidance.

This may be good news for some, but another nurse said it meant that the staff park was often full with no spaces available.

Before the pandemic, only certain staff were given fobs to park on the staff car park at Arrowe Park Hospital based on factors such as how far they lived from the hospital.

This nurse, who was penalised for parking on criss-crossed lines within the staff car park, said there are now "no spaces" available for people like her who have the fob.

She said the fine, which was £40 if paid by a certain time and could rise to £70 if paid later, was "harsh under the circumstances staff are going through [during the pandemic]".

However, the Arrowe Park staff member acknowledged she should not have parked where she did.

A spokesperson for Wirral University Teaching Hospital said: "In line with national NHS guidance, parking for NHS staff in our hospital car parks at Arrowe Park and Clatterbridge is currently free of charge for the duration of the pandemic.

"All staff who have their Wirral University Hospitals NHS ID badge can access those staff car parks.

"It is important that we keep patient car parks available for those patients who need it and staff are advised not to use the public car parks.

"We want to support our staff at this time and if there are mitigating circumstances we would ask staff to please contact the security team at Arrowe Park to discuss any issues they may have."