Hundreds sign petition in uproar to scrap staff parking charge reintroduction at Scarborough Hospital

Almost 800 people had signed a petition calling for the reintroduction of staff parking charges at Scarborough and Bridlington hospitals to be scrapped.

The York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has said that it will reintroduce staff parking charges from June 12 after they were suspended during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The parking charges are set to be standardised across sites with different rates depending on pay bands.

However, the reintroduction of charges has been criticised by staff who say they already feel “undervalued” and that public transport is not an option for many.

Members of the public have also criticised the decision, with some stating that healthcare staff should not have to pay for parking while others have raised concerns that the reintroduction of charges will lead to more on-street parking in residential areas close to the hospital.

Commenting on the petition, one person said: “I work at Scarborough Hospital and see the idea as loaded with inequalities.

“Also, the bus service in Scarborough is totally inadequate for staff to travel that way.

“It hasn’t been a problem to park until paid parking was removed, the management at York are clueless about Scarborough Hospital.”

Another person who signed the petition said: “Staff should have every right to park at both hospitals regardless of their job title. Hospitals are understaffed as it is!”

As part of the plan, automatic number plate recognition technology and replacement barriers are being installed at York, Scarborough, and Bridlington according to an email sent to staff which also reveals the proposed parking charges by pay band.

In March, a spokesperson for the trust said: “The Government’s financial support for providing free car parking for all NHS staff during the pandemic ended on April 1 2022, and although as a trust we are not funded to provide free parking for staff, we chose not to reintroduce parking charges immediately despite many trusts doing so.”

The MP for Scarborough and Whitby, Sir Robert Goodwill, told The Scarborough News: “I get letters from people living nearby, places like Hovingham Drive, complaining that doctors or nurses are parking on their streets and making it difficult for their visitors to come to the house, so I think that the principle of paying for parking makes sense, economically.”

Cllr Rich Maw, who represents the Weaponness and Ramshill division at North Yorkshire Council, said he supported the petition and was trying to stop the charges from being reintroduced.

“The new parking restrictions at Scarborough and Bridlington hospitals will mean restriction of parking to particular staff groups only,” he said.

“This will mean many staff members will not be allowed to park at the hospital.”

Cllr Maw added: “I have concerns of staff looking to park outside of the hospital grounds, perhaps around the Hovingham Drive area and Woodland Ravine.

“There are predictable dangers in having staff being forced to walk alone in the dark between shifts in order to avoid this additional ‘pay to work’ tax.”