CAR PARKING CHARGES AT ST MARY’S BROUGHT IN NEARLY £180,000 LAST YEAR

Nearly £180,000 was made from visitors and patients parking at the Isle of Wight’s only hospital in 2023. Figures recently released by NHS England have revealed just how much parking income hospitals across the country have made. In England, between 1st April 2022 and 31st March 2023, the hospitals and the NHS trusts which run them made £145.8 million. On the Island, earning a fraction of the total sum, the Isle of Wight NHS Trust brought in £179,240. A spokesperson for the Island Trust said the income generated from parking charges is used to provide a security service at St Mary’s Hospital and maintain the car parks across the site. They said any additional revenue is invested back into supporting patient care. Across the water, at the University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, £2,535,729 was made from parking charges. At the Portsmouth Hospital University NHS Trust, the body pocketed £1,714,068. Back on the Island, parking fees went up in October, in line with inflation, the IOW NHS Trust said. It now costs patients and visitors £1.70 to park for up to an hour; £2.90 for 1-2 hours; £4.80 for up to 4 hours; £6.20 for between 4-6 six hours and £9 for up to a 24-hour stay. Parking is free for Blue Badge holders; visitors of long-term inpatients (over 14 days) and frequent outpatients who attend two or more appointments a week for a four-week period. The hospital also has designated drop-off points for up to 30 minutes.