Parking charges increase at northern Lincolnshire hospitals

Rise in security incidents given as part of the reason

Author: Ivan Morris Poxton, Local Democracy Reporting ServicePublished 6th Sep 2024
Last updated 6th Sep 2024

Parking charges have increased at Scunthorpe General Hospital and Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital, Grimsby, with the number of incidents security handle part of the reason given for the new pricing.

The new charges began from September 1. Goole District Hospital has also had new parking fees introduced.

They are described as a slight increase on Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust’s (NLAG) webpages. The new one to two hours rate for Grimsby is £5, compared to £4.40 previously. Likewise, the day rate at the same hospital is now £6.20, compared to £5.50 before.

An NLAG spokesperson has reiterated it does not receive central funding for car park upkeep, so the charges are necessary for maintenance and security. Between January and July, its security had to deal with over 5,000 incidents, 793 classed as involving someone violent or aggressive.

“Our priority when it comes to parking for patients and visitors is to provide a safe and secure environment for both them and their vehicles,” said the spokesperson. “However, while we need to provide these facilities, we do not receive any central funding towards the upkeep and security of our car parks.

“As well as funding maintenance costs, car parking charges also support us to provide high-quality, professional security staff and technology for our sites to help keep you and our staff safe. These staff are an extremely valuable part of our team, who deal with hundreds of incidents every month.”

Between January and July, security dealt with 5,048 incidents, including:

  • Helping to support 625 patients with mental health issues
  • 793 incidents involving someone who was violent or aggressive
  • 145 instances of anti-social behaviour on our sites and 45 crimes
  • 200 incidents involving someone under the influence of alcohol or drugs
  • 28 road traffic collisions

Scunthorpe General Hospital’s new rates include £5 for one to two hours and £6.20 for an all day ticket. At all of NLAG’s hospitals, Blue Badge drivers can get free parking, provided they register beforehand.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service previously reported in January that NLAG’s income from parking charges increased by 64 per cent in 2022/23, when it earned over £1.4m in car parking charges income. However, Grimsby hospital parking charges were comparatively cheap, and NLAG only reinstated charges for staff parking, suspended during the pandemic, in July 2022.

From 2018/19 financial year up to November 30, 2022, NLAG consistently made less money than it put into its hospital car parks, a previous LDRS freedom of information request found.

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