NHS staff at West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds will have to pay to park from July 2023

The trust which runs West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds has confirmed staff will have to start paying to park, from next month.

Free parking at the hospital site in Hardwick Lane was introduced during the coronavirus pandemic, funded by the Department of Health and Social Care.

This funding came to an end at the end of March 2022, since then the West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (WSNFT) has absorbed the cost of staff car parking.

However, staff members have now been told they will have to pay to park, from July 1, 2023.

In a statement a spokesman for the trust acknowledged that reintroducing staff parking charges is ‘not a popular decision’.

This is something that has been highlighted by the union, UNISON, which has had 1,185 signatures on their petition called ‘West Suffolk Hospital: Don’t Make Staff Pay To Work’.

The WSNFT spokesman said: “Free car parking arrangements for NHS staff, introduced during the pandemic and funded by the Department of Health and Social Care, came to an end on 31 March 2022 and since then, our trust has been absorbing the costs of staff car parking.

“Unfortunately, we have not been able to continue absorbing these costs. We understand that reintroducing car parking charges is not a popular decision, and it was not an easy one to make, particularly in the context of pressures of the cost of living.

“The Trust operates a free shuttle bus service for all staff from two locations in Bury St Edmunds through to the hospital site.”

WSNFT confirmed that shuttle buses will continue to remain free.

In a report to the board in July last year, the trust said providing free staff parking for 2022 to 2023 would cost them about £600,000.

At the time they said they had delayed reintroducing charges for as long as possible in recognition of staff concerns.

Caroline Hennessy, UNISON eastern head of health, said: “Prices are still rising and NHS staff are still struggling to get by.

“This year’s NHS pay rise was far more than the government wanted to give, but it’s still a long way short of what health workers deserve.

“The last thing staff need is a new charge on coming to work.

“West Suffolk must listen to the voices of staff and slam the brakes on these proposals.”

Introducing their petition online, the union said: “When they first suggested this last year (the car parking charges), UNISON reps made it clear that this is not acceptable.

“The trust backed down and shelved the plans, but now they’re back and refusing to budge. This is a tax on going to work.”

A spokesman for UNISON said the petition was started last month and as well as the signatures online their have been ‘hundreds who have signed on paper’.

UNISON has planned a rally, where they will hand in the petition, next week.