AN increase in the cost of staff parking at Salisbury District Hospital has sparked a row with union bosses.

The hospital, which employs more than 4,000 members of staff, plans to increase the cost of parking to help pay for 24 hour on site security.

It was a decision slammed by UNISON lead steward Mark Wareham who described himself as "incredibly unhappy" at the decision.

They say it equates to an increase of 14 per cent — five times the rate of inflation since the last rise. Mr Wareham said he was "astonished" that the cost of security was being passed on to workers.

"We are deeply concerned about this development and using the provision of staff health and safety to justify this increase in charges," he said.

"We remain strongly opposed to the NHS raising additional revenue for patient care through charging staff for parking.

"We see this as being in effect an additional indirect tax on hospital staff as our members are being forced to effectively help to subsidise the same patient care that they deliver via revenue raised from parking."

A Freedom of Information request showed that the hospital raised more than £800,000 last year through car parking charges.

Ian Robinson, Head of Facilities at Salisbury District Hospital, said on site security had been seen as the "number one priority for staff". The cost of the security was £125,000.

“We feel that it’s essential that any improvements in this area and the cost of developing and maintaining car parks, is not taken from funds that could be used for direct patient care," he said. "This is why we have, regrettably, had to cover these additional costs through a small rise in staff car parking charges.”

The increases range from an additional £2 per month for lower paid staff and £3.50p a month for higher grades. Part time staff that opt to pay monthly, have a reduced rate. Daily scratchcards will go up by 20p.

The Trust has made no changes to car parking charges for visitors, but streamlined the number of charging bands. There has also been a £1 increase a week on discounted season tickets.

Mr Robinson added: “We do look very carefully at how best to fund on-site improvements and this was a difficult decision to make. It’s also important to point out that we have not increased car parking charges for visitors since 2011 and staff since 2013."

Changes to the daily scratchcards for staff will come into effect immediately.