ST HELENS and Knowsley NHS Trust received more than £2m in car parking charges last year.

A Freedom of Information request revealed that more than £2.2m was paid in parking fees at St Helens and Whiston hospitals for 2016/17.

This was made up of £1.4m in visitor charges and £812,035 in fees from staff members.

The issue of NHS parking charges surfaced recently among national media outlets with hospitals in England receiving a record £174m last year in parking charges, a rise of six per cent from the previous year.

The charges were branded as a “tax on sickness”, although hospitals claimed charging was necessary and money was reinvested.

In St Helens and Knowsley the figure for 2016/17 was an increase of more than £200,000 on the previous year which saw more than £1.98m paid - amounting to a larger percentage rise than the national trend.

This had followed an increase from the year before (2014/15) when more than £1.71m was received.

The Trust parking charges include £1 for 20 minutes to an hour; increased by a £1 per hour with a £6 maximum charge.

A Trust spokesperson said: “Car parking at both hospital sites is in high demand, rising in line with increased demand for services.

"The Trust provides a number of free parking spaces for patients attending the cancer unit and offers a £10 unlimited weekly parking concession for those using facilities on a regular basis, which is proving extremely popular.

"The Trust aims to keep its car parking charges to a minimum, with fees that are amongst the lowest in the region.

"The Trust makes no profit from revenue of the car parks. All income generated is reinvested in car parking facilities, this includes security costs, maintenance fees and estate payments."