Lancashire NHS workers, patients & visitors paid £13m to park at our hospitals last year- your trust responds
Lancashire NHS trusts received millions in car parking income last year — but what did they say when we asked thm about it?
NHS workers, patients and visitors across Lancashire paid a staggering £13.3 million to park at our county’s hospitals last year.
Last week, the release of the 2025/2026 Estate Returns Information Collection revealed that NHS workers in the North West paid almost £19 million to park at work last year- higher than any other region.
Reacting to the news, GMB National Secretary Rachel Harrison said: "It's utterly obscene we are still having this debate in 2026. On what planet is it a good idea to charge health workers just for going to work?
"Despite finally getting a pay rise under the Labour Government, NHS workers are underpaid and massively overstretched. They're trying to save lives on a shoe string budget inside a creaking system.
"They need our help and support, not having pounds pinched out of their pocket just for trying to do their job."
The Lancashire Post took a deeper dive into the data, however, to see what the situation was like specifically in Lancashire.
We can reveal that NHS workers across our county spent just over £4 million to park at work between April 2025 and March 2026, while patients and visitors spent just over £9 million.
Both figures were higher than the previous year (April 2024-March 2025), when staff paid £3.5 million and patients/family £7 million.
Looking further again, different hospital trusts across Lancashire took in varying amounts from car parking - although all of them took in more in 2025/26 than 2024/2025.
We approached each trust* with their own figures and asked them why their car parking income had increased and what they would say to people who struggle to afford the charges.
Take a look at what your hospital trust said next.
*Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Trust does not feature in this piece, as the data records ‘0’ for all car parking income figures.
Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust took in the most money from parking charges: £4.1million in total across 25/26.
For staff the number went from £1.2 million in 2024/2025 to £1.3 million in 2025/2026.
For patients and visitors the number went from £2 million in 2024/2025 to £2.8 million in 2025/2026.
A Trust spokesperson said: “The figure quoted relates to total income from car parking across our sites and does not represent profit.
“Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals is one of the largest NHS trusts in the region and provides almost 5,000 parking spaces across its sites for the thousands of patients, visitors and staff who use our services every day. Income from parking helps cover the significant costs of providing and maintaining these facilities, including security, lighting, maintenance and wider infrastructure.
“We provide free parking for Blue Badge holders and patients who need to attend hospital frequently. We also provide free overnight parking for parents and guardians visiting a child under 18 who has been admitted as an inpatient, with the concession applying to up to two vehicles, alongside discounted parking for staff and other regular visitors.
“We remain committed to keeping parking charges under regular review. Individual charges remain in line with those at other NHS trusts and, in some cases, are lower.”
Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust took in the second most money from parking charges, £3.5 million in total across 25/26.
For staff the number went from £746,000 in 2024/2025 to £826,028 in 2025/2026.
For patients and visitors the number went from £2.5 million in 2024/2025 to £2.6 million in 2025/2026.
When approached, Lancashire Teaching Hospitals advised that direct comparisons of parking income between trusts can be misleading, as they do not take account of the size of the organisation, the number of hospital sites, or the volume of people using those facilities.
For context, Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust does employ the largest number of employees across the Lancashire hospital trusts according to Lancashire County Council’s latest figures.
They are followed by Lancashire Teaching Hospitals then East Lancashire, Blackpool and Morecambe - which is the same order as their parking income.
The trusts also rank in the same order when considering the number of patients they received in the 12 months leading up to May 2026- save for East Lancashire and Lancashire Teaching Hospitals which swap places.
A spokesperson for Lancashire Teaching Hospitals added: “It is important to be clear that the charges are in place to cover the significant running costs associated with providing parking on our sites. This includes but is not limited to; maintenance, business rates, CCTV, lighting, drainage, security, EV chargers, etc - the costs of which all increase on a regular basis. We aim to keep our charges as low as we can and benchmark these with other public sector organisations.
“The increase of revenue between 2024/25 and 2025/26 will have been due to both to heavier usage of the car parks, and small price increases which are in line with inflation. You can see this year’s patient/visitor increase on our website here.
“The national policy on Car Parking Concessions also means that we also provide subsidies to those most in need to park free or at low cost and you can learn more about what those are here.
“Not everyone has access to a car and so we have a number of bus stops and pick-up / drop-off areas on our sites to make it as easy as possible for those wishing to use public transport, get a lift from family or friends or using a taxi.”
East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust
East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust took in £2.1million from parking charges across 25/26.
For staff the number went up from £847,000 in 2024/2025 to £934,000 in 2025/2026.
Patients and visitors then spent £1.1 million in 2025/2026 but this cannot be compared to the year before as the data incorrectly shows ‘0’.
A spokesperson for East Lancashire Hospitals too cautioned that the number of patients and staff each hospital has should be considered.
They also stated that East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust offers concessions to patients and visitors frequently and free parking for Blue Badge holders.
Tony McDonald, Chief Integration Officer at East Lancashire Hospitals Trust added: "Our car parks are managed by a third-party company under a contractual arrangement. Charges paid by staff and visitors are collected by the parking provider and are used to support the operation and management of the car parks. The Trust does not receive income from parking charges.
"To help keep costs as low as possible, the Trust subsidises the cost of parking. Staff permits currently start from £3.47 per month for part-time colleagues and £6.95 per month for full-time colleagues.
"We are continually looking at ways to improve parking for patients, visitors and colleagues, as we know the important role it plays in their overall experience of our services."
Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust took in £2 million from parking charges across 25/26.
For staff the number went from £500,000 in 2024/2025 to £600,000 in 2025/2026.
For patients and visitors the number went from £1.2 million in 2024/2025 to £1.4 million in 2025/2026.
Janet Barnsley, Chief Operating Officer at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals, said: “Blackpool Teaching Hospitals, like other NHS Trusts, must charge for parking to ensure that this important facility can be properly maintained for our staff, patients and visitors.
“Prices are set in line with other NHS Trusts in the region and from recommendations for the NHS nationally and charges for patients and visitors at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals are among the lowest for Trusts in Lancashire and South Cumbria.
“Occasionally we may be forced to increase charges by a small amount in line with inflation and other cost increases, but this will be done fairly and to minimise the impact it will have on those using the facilities.
“Concessions are provided where they are needed, for instance for the parent or carer of a child who is an inpatient, and for haematology patients undergoing regular outpatient appointments.
“We work hard to ensure that staff parking is equitable and fair across our colleagues, and occasionally will review them where we need to with input from staff across the Trust.”
University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust
University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust took in the least amount from parking chargeS, totalling £1.59 million across 2025/2026.
For staff the number went up slightly from £336,000 in 2024/2025 to £340,000 in 2025/2026.
For patients and visitors the number also went up only slightly from £1.23 million in 2024/2025 to £1.25 million in 2025/2026.
The Post did approach the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust but they were not able to respond by the deadline.
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