Statistics show that hospital staff across Greater Manchester paid nearly £ 8 million to stand at the workplace in a year.

The 2019/20 figures show that parking tickets, permits and fines for employees brought in £ 7.9m in hospital funds across the region – a similar figure for the previous year.

A union leader said: “To impose fees NHS Employees to park their cars at work is a shame.

“You shouldn’t get cash back by charging the people we depend on to keep us alive.”

“We hear constantly about the nursing staff struggling to keep up with these fees,” said the president of the Royal College of Nursing in the Northwest.

During the same period, statistics show that patients and visitors paid £ 10.8m to park their cars.

The funds said parking fees for employees are currently on hold during the pandemic, but fees for patients and visitors remain.

They said that the proceeds from parking fees are being reinvested into hospital services.

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The University of Manchester NHS Trust, the UK’s largest trust, has seen the largest income from parking fees, bringing in £ 3.4m from patients and visitors and £ 3.2m from employees.

It costs an average of £ 1.50 an hour for patients and visitors to stand at Wythenshaw Hospital.

Staff paid an average of 8 pence an hour at the hospital. This was a drop of 11 pence an hour compared to the previous year’s numbers.

The most expensive local employee fee was 14 pence an hour at most locations – with the exception of Birch Hill Hospital – operated by the Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust.

Employees are more likely to have parking permits – so, for example, if they were paying £ 2.40 a day, that would equate to 10p an hour.

The most expensive site for patients and park visitors was Stepping Hill Hospital at an average of £ 1.83 an hour.

A spokesperson for the University of Manchester’s NHS Foundation Trust, which is in charge of Royal Manchester Hospital and Wethenshaw Hospital, said: “Staff parking fees remain pending across the MFT.

“Patient fees are in line with many other NHS funds.

“Revenue from parking fees is reinvested into services at the MFT.”

A spokesperson for the Stockport NHS Foundation Trust, in charge of Stepping Hill Hospital, said: “Staff at the Stepping Hill Hospital site still have free parking, but fees apply to patients and visitors.

“The number of patient and visitor parking spaces at the site has been significantly reduced at the present time due to the large numbers of outpatient appointments now taking place roughly, in addition to continuing visitor restrictions on the site.

“Parking fees are never popular, but we need to prioritize our funding investment in areas that improve the clinical services we provide to our patients.”

A spokesperson for the Northern Care Alliance NHS Group, which combines the Salford Royal and Pennine Acute Trust, said: According to the National Government Directive Charges for Personnel Car Parking at the Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, it was suspended on April 1, 2020 and is still pending at the moment.

“Prices for our employees’ parking permits are reviewed against similar local fees and transportation costs, and we understand that some other NHS organizations in Greater Manchester charge higher fees for parking permits for their employees.

“Any parking gain after the costs have been removed is reinvested in parking, security and the provision of active and sustainable travel at the Trust.”

GMB National Officer Rachel Harrison said: “It is shameful to charge NHS employees designated to park their cars on the job.

“The government cuts have taken a heavy toll on the NHS, but the funds should not recover that money by charging the people we depend on to keep us alive.”

Estephanie Dunn, Regional Director of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) in the Northwest, said: “While we value that free parking is more of an advantage than a right for anyone in their workplace, we constantly hear about nursing staff struggling to keep up with these fees.

Throughout this pandemic, the country has seen its most impressive manifestation of nursing excellence, seeing it as a highly skilled profession deserving of a fair wage.

“Nurses are now more than 12.5 per cent behind in wages in real terms, compared to 10 years ago. Having to pay high parking fees puts additional stress on their already stressful financial situation along with a very stressful job.

“Some nursing staff have taken advantage of free parking during this pandemic, which has been a relief at a time when they are under severe stress.

“In fact, this means that they not only have to find extra money, nor do they have to think about trying to find an off-site parking space and reduce the need to walk on their own during unrelated business hours, to locate their cars because they cannot afford to park the car. On site.

“Parking is a constant problem for nursing staff, yet it is extremely important to pay employees fairly for the work they do and for the skill set that they have.”