Nurses 'extremely demoralised' as parking charges to rise again at Yeovil Hospital
A nurse has said staff at Yeovil Hospital are "fed up" as parking charges are set to rise for the second time in less than a year.
Many staff need to park at the hospital on Higher Kingston to get to work, but they have recently been informed that prices will rise significantly in May, after having last risen in August 2022.
Parking charges for workers are set to increase by more than 10 per cent across the board. The price depends on the pay band of the staff member, with the maximum charge set to increase from £42.43 to £48.12 a month.
The hospital says the car parking charge is increasing in line with inflation, but the nurse argues that the wages of the workers that use the car park are not increasing at the same pace, describing the hospital's decision as "tone deaf".
They said that "people are really fed up and concerned about this", adding that "it's almost impossible to complain without compromising one's position".
The nurse, who wishes to remain anonymous, said: "You will be aware of the ongoing strikes for better pay and conditions in the healthcare sector, which include doctors and nurses - part of the strike is that our pay is not keeping up with inflation and hasn't for a long time.
"Nurses at Yeovil Hospital did not strike, because not enough people participated in the ballot, but junior doctors did.
"Those of us who park in the hospital car park pay for the privilege, albeit at a subsidised rate. The charge is deducted from our salaries.
"It should be remembered that our hospital covers a wide, rural area and for many staff working unsocial hours, the only way to get to work is by car.
"Recently, those of us who park in hospital car park received an email advising us that the charge was going up from May 1.
"The last increase in this charge was only on August 1 last year. The wording in the email was that costs needed to go up in line with inflation.
"This is extremely demoralising in a cost of living crisis, where healthcare workers are striking for better conditions. It seems the NHS will not pay us in line with inflation, yet they will increase our parking charges to keep up with inflation."
A spokesman for Yeovil Hospital said the price increase comes after "reviewing parking related expenses at the site". They said that because the cost of providing the parking provision has increased, the prices must also rise to pay for it.
The spokesman said: "We have worked hard to keep the rise to a minimum. We review the cost of car parking at the hospital annually and changes usually come into effect in April.
"Last year we delayed the increase in parking costs until August because we were concerned about the impact on our colleagues. Unfortunately, the cost of providing the facility has increased and the money we receive from parking charges pays for the provision and upkeep of our parking facilities.
"Parking charges for our colleagues are tiered depending on their NHS salary band. The maximum that a colleague will pay per month for unlimited parking at the hospital is set at £48.12 per month."