ONE in three NHS hospitals in England increased the costs of parking last year, leaving patients feeling “ripped off".

A study revealed hospitals made more than £254million from 2018 to 2019, 10 per cent up on the previous year.

One person said: "The car parks are so busy that from 4.30pm until 5.30pm it can take nearly one hour to leave the hospital", while another said: "I spent over £102 to visit my wife."

The Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals (RBCH) made £1.21million from 2018 to 2019, compared to £1.15million the previous year.

A spokesperson for the RBCH NHS Foundation trust said visitors parking was increased in October 2018 in line with other trusts.

They said: “The income from our carpark charges goes into maintaining the car parks and surrounding roads and paths, repairs and upgrading equipment. The rest of the income goes directly back into patient care.”

Free or discounted parking is available for some visitors to RBCH, including patients attending an ongoing treatment regime for cancer, relatives of patients receiving end of life care and vehicles that are tax exempt due to driver disability.

The University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust were the sixth highest earners for carpark charges, raking in £4.24million.

In the study, done by the PA news agency, 49 per cent of people said nobody should have to pay for parking.

Of those who thought somebody else should foot the bill, half said the government should pay, while 23 per cent thought NHS trusts should be responsible.

When it came to experiencing problems with parking, 32 per cent of people said they struggled to find a space during their visit, and one in five people who received a parking fine said it was because their appointment overran or because of a reason that was out of their control.