Hospital parking costs set to rise in county
GoogleCar parking charges for patients and visitors at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust are to rise for the first time since 2021.
The fees will be in place at the Royal Shrewsbury (RSH) and Princess Royal (PRH) hospitals as well as the William Farr House in Shrewsbury and will begin on 7 April.
The trust said the increases were due to rising costs, essential upgrades and investments in alternatives to parking such as a park and ride service.
A spokesperson added the increases would ensure they could cover the costs of maintaining and running the car parks.
What are the new charges?
- Up to 20 minutes - free (no change)
- Up to one hour - £4.00
- Up to two hours - £5.50 (£2 increase)
- Up to three hours - £6.50 (£2 increase)
- Up to four hours - £7.50 (£2 increase)
- 24 hours - £9.50 (£1 increase)
The spokesperson said they believed the increases were in line with other hospitals and any surplus would be reinvested into their car parking and front line services.
Are the charges for everyone?
Currently there are exceptions to the charges for certain groups of people and the trust spokesperson said they would remain the same after the increases.
These include:
- Blue badge holders
- Patients receiving cancer treatment or renal dialysis
- People visiting for issues connected with bereavement
- Parents of sick children
- Those who attend hospital frequently
What alternative travel is available?
"The trust is continuing to invest in new schemes that will improve parking for everyone including trialling a new patient park and ride at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital," said Paula Gardner, the trust's interim chief nursing officer.
The park & ride trial is running until 18 April and there are also bus services in the town that stop at or near the hospital on their routes.
The trial scheme runs from Oxon park and ride in Shrewsbury to the hospital between 10:00 and 15:00 GMT.
There is no park and ride service to get to the PRH in Telford but the trust previously said that it would wait and see how the trial in Shrewsbury worked to see if it could also work for the PRH.
There are bus services that stop at PRH's main entrance.
How have the car parks improved?
The trust spokesperson said they have introduced various methods over the past 12 months to improve car parking.
They include:
- Improving line painting and creating new spaces on unused land
- Staff park and ride schemes to free up parking spaces
- New cameras to help manage demand
- New parking machines
"These improvements are being phased in across both hospital sites and William Farr House over the coming months," they said.
There are also plans to increase electric car points and cycling facilities.
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