Do you think NHS staff should have to pay £10-15 a day for parking?

[MrsLemonadeBrain]

I work in the hospital and parking is probably an hour and a half’s wage (maybe more) for a shifts parking (it goes up to 18 quid if you’re on a long)
This has always been fine by me. But the last three days when I’ve been leaving work and paying for my parking (pay on exit type jobby) several people have been outraged about the cost of my parking and feel like they need to spend 10 minutes telling me how outrageous it is!
What is the general opinion on this?
Should I be as outraged as all these patients suggest?

@ragmayo thank you. Had a crummy drive home yesterday (three hours due to closed M1) so in a negative mood

I think it depends on what other transport options are possible. Somewhere with decent buses/trains/tube/whatever, yes, car parking should be charged for. If the hospital would only be staffed if people drove there, then that's a bit different.

I think car drivers underestimate the costs of providing a car park, and how non-drivers end up subsidising that cost if parking charges aren't mandatory - and it's obviously not fair to ask non-drivers to subsidise drivers.

That sounds ridiculously expensive. At the trust my DH works in, it’s £31pcm for staff parking. Check out one of those websites where people rent out their drives to see if people are doing that near to work. Before DH got a space he did that for £50pcm.

£30 a month sounds reasonable. That’s what it is at our trust. The op’s charges are extortionate and it’s stuff like that that makes staff feel like they’re not valued, and sadly makes them more likely to leave.

ragmayo - I really cannot understand why anybody is complaining about £10 - £15 a day car parking. It’s a bargain compared to the cost for many of commuting in the SE!

@tansie1 (argh! Not sure how to tag people - new poster!)
I completely agree that the sums involved are outrageous. At the Trust where I work the unions negotiated a sliding scale of payments relating to salary, with special rates for community midwives, on-call staff etc. This is much more equitable and nowhere near the amount the OP is paying. Plus it covers the cost of maintenance on the car parks (previously the Trust was subsidising this).

(Oh it tagged 😁)

Our trust employs 6,000 people. It has capacity for approx. 650 patients. There are 140 staff car parking spaces which are £40 a month permit.

Exactly where do people think all the extra land to park cars is coming from over and above out patients and visitor parking ?

I'm afraid I'm another one who doesn't get the whole some jobs are super special over and above others and deserve extra special treatment.

I work in a mental health hospital and park for free. I would not go for a job where I had to pay to park if I could avoid it. I could get to work without a car but I'd have to cycle and it would take longer. When you work odd hours, those extra minutes at Home mean a lot.

I did discount a job based at a General Hospital due to the likely parking costs.

On balance, I don't think hospital staff should pay to park. Especially nursing staff, no wonder recruitment is so hard at present!