Parking at Walsall Manor Hospital brings in £910,000
More than £900,000 was raked in from car parking charges at Walsall Manor Hospital in less than a year – £140,000 higher than expected due to a rising number of admissions.
An increase in patients and visitors saw the anticipated level of income from last April to end of January this year rise above the £770,000 target.
Bosses at Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust today said the hectic winter period has seen demand for parking spaces rise. An increased number of patients from the overnight closure of Stafford Hospital’s A&E department is also to blame.
It comes as Walsall Manor Hospital could see another increase of hundreds of extra patients under new £70m proposals to downgrade Cannock and Stafford hospitals by health watchdog Monitor.
The Walsall site saw a 30 per rise in the treatment of patients from Staffordshire in less than 12 months due to the reduced A&E opening hours at Stafford. Health chiefs dealt with more than 35 extra people a week from Staffordshire from April and December 2012, compared to the same period 12 months before.
It was also one of the busiest December and January at the Manor in years. On three days in December, there were more than 90 emergency admissions a day. In the six months to December, there was a 14 per cent rise and extra staff and beds were made available in a bid to ease the workload.
Budgeted income from car parking was £770,000 between April 1, 2012, and January 31, 2013, but the trust received £910,000.
Jayne Tunstall, chief operating officer at Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust, said: “This winter the trust has seen an increase in patients being admitted to hospital and therefore more people visiting their family and friends. This has resulted in an increase in people using our car parks, resulting in a revenue increase of £140,000.”
A ‘pay on foot’ system operates, costing £1 for 30 minutes, £2 for the first hour and £1 per hour up to a maximum daily fee of £6.
Comments for: "Parking at Walsall Manor Hospital brings in £910,000"
Roger Bailey
Its really pathetic and dispicable to discuss income from making people pay for the privilege of visiting a hospital....
We are now talking in terms of income for something that should remain a free service for visitors, oupatients and staff of the hospital, its simply profiteering off a captive audience who have no other choice in the matter...
Hang your heads in shame you mercenaries...
Chuckleberry
As most of my appointments have always gone over 1 hour I feel I've paid a fair share of this outrageous amount!! I don't suppose there will be a review of these overprice rates?
Cyril Randle
They should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves.
BLOXWICH PETE
£1 for the first 1/2hour is robbing people who are vunerable. No one gets sorted out in that time. It takes 10 minutes to find the Department you are looking for. I will be paying into the coffers again tomorrow, with at least a handful of £1 coins just in case !!! Perhaps the people who decide these charges might like to reply ?
Walsallwonder
I do not think the parking should be free otherwise you would get every man and his dog parking there all day long whilst they work in Walsall. However, I do think the prices could be halved as it would still generate a lot of income.
I too pay in regularly to these coffers but object to the high charges. Appointments inevitably always run late. The clinic I take my Mum to every few weeks or so is always an hour and half behind so we always end up paying for 2 hours of parking. We have tried getting to our appointments later only to be told as we were late turning up for the appointment we would have to wait until others had been seen who arrived on time! You cannot win!
Margaret Hamilton
Amazing how the politically neutral Express and Star fails to mention that the "Government" that they support has cut a fifth of the hospital's budget this year. How do the Express and Star suggest that the hospital makes up this shortfall?
Richard Foster
The hospital and the car park are owned by Skanska, so how much did they make out this, and much did they actually pass on to the Trust? That should be your real story.