NEW Car Parking Concessions are set to be introduced ahead of the reinstatement of parking charges at Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals to help tackle increasing congestion.
Despite restricted visiting, there has been a 35 percent increase in parking with congestion particularly bad at Warrington.
Now following a full year of free parking during the COVID-19 pandemic the Trust is set to extend its range of car parking concessions effective from 1st April 2021, these include:
Free parking for visitors to Intensive Care
Free overnight parking for up to two parents staying with children on the neonatal or children’s units
Free parking for patients attending outpatients three or more times per calendar month.
This is in addition to many parking concessions already available.
It follows a full year of free parking at its Halton and Warrington hospital sites for visitors, patients and members of the public. While the Trust will reinstate car parking charges for these motorists from 1st April 2021, there are no plans to reintroduce charges for staff parking.
The Trust advises that the key reason to reinstate charging is continued congestion, especially at the Warrington site, which sees patients, visitors and staff struggling to park. This is despite restricted visiting, more than a third of outpatient appointments being held virtually and a reduction in some non-urgent elective work while the Trust works through the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Trust has seen a 35% increase in vehicle movements in the April- June period at its hospitals in the last two years and in an attempt to ease the situation has invested heavily in additional offsite car parking in Warrington, with 178 new offsite staff spaces created in the past two years.
1. Current car parking charges are:
First 30 mins Free
Up to 2hours
£2.50
Up to 4hours
£3.50
Up to 6hours
£5.00
Up to 24 hours
£6.00
2.Current and new car parking concessions are:
Weekly pass £10 and Monthly Saver £30
Cancer patients – Free
Renal patients – Free
Visitors to those at end of Life Care – Free
Urgent Treatment Centre – Free
Emergency admissions – eligible for weekly saver pass
Unpaid Carers – Free with a signed ward request
New concessions from 1st April 2021
• Frequent OPD patients (At least 3 x month)
• Up to two parents/guardians on B10-11 and Neonatal between 7pm and 7am
• Visitors to ICU
3. Hospital car parks are independently operated and managed by the Highview/Ranger car park management company (NEXIS). Motorists who do not pay the correct fee or claim their free parking under one of the concessions, will be issued with a penalty charge notice by Highview/Ranger who also operate an appeals process.
