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‘Disbelief and disgust’ as UHCW staff car park prices to rise by £57
Staff at University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) will face a £7 increase in parking fees. This means doctors, midwives, surgeons, nurses and more will have to pay £57 a month, which will become effective from June 1.
The parking rate was previously increased to £50 in April 2022, but has increased again due to the rise of inflation, but some are not happy about this new change.
CoventryLive spoke to a staff member who works for UHCW, who wished to remain anonymous, about the impact this has had.
Read more: UHCW staff car park prices will rise to £50 a month by April
“I have worked for the trust for up to 15 years and I am very disappointed about the increase, especially as we had a £7 increase last year. There was a petition last year, but sadly it didn’t have any impact.”
Her reaction to the news was “disbelief” and “disgust” when the email about the changes was made to staff on Thursday (May 25).
“The email went out with changes to come into effect on 1st June, and the trust stated this gives time to make other arrangements. I do not believe this gives enough time, and I was upset about the apparent lack of staff consultation on the matter. This feels like another kick in the teeth – pay rises are not in line with inflation and yet they are increasing staff parking in line with the retail price index, it doesn’t feel fair.”
The staff member doesn’t live in Coventry, and has to drive from over 10 miles away, hence the need for parking on site.
“Alternative off-site parking was mentioned, but no details were given. They gave ideas on reduced rate train and bus fares and the cycle to work scheme, but these public modes of transport don’t get everyone to work on time. They aren’t always practical for shift work, and cycling from further areas involves major roads or motorways which can be dangerous.”
She wants to raise awareness of this issue, but knows that ‘nothing will change’ as the decision is already made, especially as the petition didn’t work last year.
“We aren’t valued here. Staff who work in the NHS do so because we care, and in return we would like fair treatment. In education and policing, there are no parking fees, but my partner who works at George Eliot pays less than £20 a month to park.”
She said she has started to look for other jobs due to this parking issue: “I think this will be a major factor in staff not wanting to come to work for the trust, and a factor in staff retention.”
A spokesperson for University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust said: “The difficult decision to update monthly staff car parking charges has been made as a result of inflation rises in line with the Retail Price Index set as part of our car park contractual obligations.”
“We delayed implementing these changes by two months to allow for a detailed review of alternative options but none of these were deemed to be financially viable. All money generated goes directly towards improvements and running costs of our car parks so budgets for patient care do not fund them.”
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