September 11, 2020 10.55 am This story is over 42 months old

Parking fees scrapped for Lincolnshire hospitals staff

Union campaigned for two years
The car park at Lincoln County Hospital. Photo: Connor Creaghan for The Lincolnite

Parking charges have been scrapped for health workers at hospitals in Lincoln, Grantham and Boston, saving them over £810,000 per year.

Parking charges were paused for staff during the coronavirus crisis, but will now not be re-introduced.

This news comes after an agreement was reached between United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust (ULHT) and UNISON on Friday, September 11 after a two-year campaign by the union.

Parking for patients and visitors at ULHT’s hospitals also remains free at the moment and any plans to re-introduce charges in the future have yet to be announced.

Andrew Morgan, Chief Executive at ULHT, said: “Parking charges for our colleagues across the trust were paused during the COVID-19 pandemic and are not being re-introduced.

“This will save our staff £810,000 per year based on figures from 2019/2020.

“Parking for patients and visitors also remains free at this moment in time and we will update prior to any changes or re-introductions of parking charges in the future.”

Elliot Dean, UNISON East Midlands regional organiser, said: “This agreement will save hard-pressed staff more than £1.2m per year, money they can’t afford to lose.

“Exhausted NHS workers – who’ve been pushed to the limit during the pandemic – will be relieved that hospital bosses have done the right thing and put staff safety and wellbeing before profits.”