REPORTS in the national press that revenue from parking charges at Worcestershire’s three acute hospitals goes to a private company rather than patient care are incorrect, it has been confirmed.
Yesterday, Tuesday, April 14, the Daily Mail reported private firms were profiting from parking charges at a number of hospitals in England – claiming Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust was one of those where 100 per cent of revenue goes to a private company.
But a spokesman from the trust – which runs Worcestershire Royal Hospital, Kidderminster Hospital and Redditch’s Alexandra Hospital – confirmed the report was “100 per cent incorrect” and that all revenue is reinvested into patient care.
Car parks at all three hospitals are run by the trust itself rather than a private company.
The Daily Mail’s report claimed almost half of NHS trusts in the country use private companies to run their car parks, with these firms getting between 10 and 100 per cent of revenue, despite government guidelines saying cash from parking charges should be used to fund services and improve facilities.
The version of the article on the Daily Mail website has since been amended to remove all references to Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust.
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