UPSET patients have said they are disgusted blue badge holders will now be charged to park at Warrington Hospital.

Following the introduction of a new licence plate recognition scheme on the Lovely Lane site, board members voted on Thursday to charge disabled patients and visitors despite ministers calling for fees to be scrapped nationally.

During a brief discussion, members justified the decision with a list of other hospitals in the north west that have done the same thing and said new pay machines would be installed near blue disc holder areas.

Chairman Allan Massey said: "The purpose of a blue badge is to allow access for example if they couldn’t walk from the back end of the trust to the front.

"It enables disabled people to gain access, that’s what it’s there for, and like the rest of the population there’s still a parking charge.

"Everybody has to park somewhere and pay for that privilege."

But patient Tom Hallett, who has also recently been visiting his wife Bessie at the hospital, said the move was 'disgraceful' and he would not be paying the charges.

The 74-year-old blue badge holder added: "It's not right patients and visitors should pay to go to see the sick and it's just another glorified way of making money.

"I have been driving around circles unable to find a space during the last three weeks visiting my wife and they can't say this money will lead to improvements because in 30 years I haven't seen one.

"I haven't come across anywhere in Warrington town where blue badge holders have to pay and I'm going to continue to put my badge in the window and stick up two fingers to them."

Critics of the charges also believe the new licence plate recognition system had not been thought through and there was no way of avoiding a charge for blue badge holders without scrapping the whole costly system.

Warrington North MP Helen Jones has said she is appalled by the news.

She added: "It's recognised everywhere that disabled people need to park nearer to wherever they are going and normally that's why they get free parking.

"It's appalling a hospital, which is more likely to have disabled people attending it, has not done this.

"The real problem is the Government not funding hospitals properly leading to them relying more and more on income generated from parking charges."

Members suggested concessions for patients and visitors attending over an extended period should be advertised more and were told a system was being put in place for patients visiting ‘high pressure areas’ like intensive care but ultimately the decision to charge disabled patients and visitors was a unanimous 'Yes'.

Parking concessions:

A hospital spokesman added "Regular patients and visitors, who need to attend hospital over an extended period, can access concessions which bring the price down to around £1 per visit.

"All details are on the website whh.nhs.uk and available from the cash office at the hospital as well."

To benefit, motorists must initially obtain a pay and display ticket on their first visit and then go to the cash office (near the main entrance at Warrington) or general office in the main entrance at Halton General to purchase a discounted permit for the period of your visits.

The range of concessions are:

·       Patients attending a course of treatment over a number of weeks - present your appointment details to the cash office and you can pay £7 to cover a course of treatment (up to seven visits), and £11 to cover up to eleven visits

·       Patients attending on a number of occasions in a week - present your appointment details to the cash office and you can pay £3.50 to cover the rest of the week

·       Patients attending every day for a week - present your appointment details to the cash office and you can obtain a permit at no charge for the rest of the week

·       Visitors attending over an extended period - purchase pay and display tickets for the first week, take the tickets to the cash office and you can pay £8 to cover the next seven days. This can be repeated for further weeks.