Councillors urge Milton Keynes hospital to scrap parking charges as it's revealed people forked out £1m last year

Milton Keynes Lib Dems have called for hospital parking fees to be scrapped after it has been revealed families in the city were charged more than £1m last year

New NHS figures show that patients and visitors to Milton Keynes Hospital NHS Foundation Trust forked out a whopping £1,020,200 in parking fees during 2021.

MK Lib Dems councillors have slammed the fees as “despicable” and urged the government to scrap them as the people of Milton Keynes struggle through the cost-of-living crisis.

Councillor Jane Carr, Liberal Democrat deputy Leader and Cabinet member for Public Health, said: “As our hospital is pushed to breaking point, it is local people who are paying the price.”

She added: “The parking charges are despicable. People in Milton Keynes now not only have to worry about terrible waiting times but also whether they can even afford to attend appointments as patients and to visit loved ones.

“The government should immediately provide the funding needed to scrap parking fees for patients and relatives.

“It is completely wrong that local residents have to fork out thousands of pounds to attend vital appointments for the sake of their own health and to see their ill loved ones during this cost-of-living crisis.”

Parking at MK hospital costs £2.70 for between 15 minutes and one hour. For between one and three hours it costs £2.70 and this rises to £4.80 for between three and six hours.

Six to eight hours costs £5.30, while eight to 24 hours costs £10.60.

Weekly tickets are available at a cost of £20.