CONCERNS have been raised that increased parking charges at Worcestershire Royal Hospital will hit patients when they are at their most vulnerable.

Until Monday, January 5 parking at the Royal was £3 for up to two hours, £4.50 for between two and four hours, £6 for between four and six hours and £7.50 for up to 24 hours.

The prices have now changed to £2.50 for up to an hour and £3.70 for up to two hours, with the remaining charges staying the same.

Patients and visitors are still able to park for free for up to 30 minutes.

Worcester campaigner Lisa Ventura said she was disappointed by the changes.

“The parking charges were bad enough before but these changes are just not acceptable,” she said.

“I would be very interested to know what the ‘patient and visitor feedback’ is to warrant these changes and price increases.”

Chairman of patient’s watchdog Worcestershire Healthwatch Peter Pinfield also criticised the decision, saying it would impact the most vulnerable people in the county.

“People are struggling at the moment and it can get expensive, especially for people who have to go a few times a week,” he said.

Although he welcomed the new one hour rate, Mr Pinfield said it was unlikely the system would change any time soon.

“In an ideal world we would see only a minimum charge,” he said.

“But I wouldn’t hold my breath so close to an election.”

Director of resources at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust – which runs the Royal – Chris Tidman said the one-hour rate had been introduced following feedback from patients and visitors who said they would like the option to pay for just one hour.

“We also regularly benchmark our car parking charges carefully against other local hospital trusts to ensure that our charges remain in line with, or cheaper, than the average hospital car park charges,” he said.

Mr Tidman added the majority of income from parking charges was invested back into the maintenance and security of the trust’s car parks and roads, with any surplus used to supplement frontline health services.

“We know from the feedback we get from patients and visitors that car parking continues to be an issue.

“To improve patient and visitor experience, we are therefore planning to increase the number of disabled and regular car park spaces available at the Worcestershire Royal Hospital site as well as introducing central control and pay facilities to ensure a smooth exit and payment experience.”

Free 20-minute drop-off zones have also been introduced at all three hospitals run by the trust – the Royal, Kidderminster Hospital and Redditch’s Alexandra Hospital – while concessions are available to regular patients or their relatives.

A spokesman from the trust said leaflets detailing the changes were placed in all wards and outpatient areas of the three hospitals in December, while notices were also placed in the car parks and on the payment machines as well as on the organisation’s website.

The new prices also apply at Kidderminster Hospital and Redditch’s Alexandra Hospital.