Nursing Times details how the re-introduction of parking charges at NHS trusts in England and Northern Ireland, together with the rising cost of fuel, are putting additional financial strain on nurses already under pressure from low pay and rising prices, according to a survey

This is a particular issue for nurses who reside in rural areas where the lack of public transport means travel by car is the only option available option for them.

Those living in rural areas statistically also have to travel further to work which means the increase in fuel costs will penalise them further.

The rising cost of fuel is particularly hard on community nurses and other NHS staff that have to drive their own vehicles for work, noted the union.

They are currently having to cover the increasing cost of car travel out of their own wages, because mileage rates are lagging far behind the actual prices at the pump.

The current rate for those on NHS Agenda for Change (AfC) contracts, or with AfC mileage allowances in their contracts, is set at 56p per mile for the first 3,500 miles and 20p for each additional mile.

A temporary increase to mileage rates of an additional 5p per mile was introduced in Scotland earlier this month, after successful lobbying from unions.

However, nurses and NHS staff elsewhere in the UK  have not yet received any boost to their mileage rate.

The Unison survey of around 12,000 health workers found that nearly three-quarters of the 3,000 staff who used their car for carrying out work duties said the current mileage allowance was not high enough.

Of these, 58% said they were left out of pocket every month, 20% were looking for another job and 9% reported having to cut down on patient visits or the number of patients seen due to the cost of driving.

In addition, parking charges that were lifted on NHS hospital sites in England and Northern Ireland during the pandemic were now being reintroduced after government funding to cover the free parking ended last month.

Unison head of health Sara Gorton said:

“This is not a good time to be an NHS worker struggling on a budget.

“Staff facing a perfect storm over soaring living costs are paying through the nose for fuel and parking – just to do their jobs,” she said.

She noted: “Some health roles can’t be done without a car, especially those carried out in rural areas by community support workers and district nurses. They might do many miles a day.”

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Nursing Times - Rising fuel prices and parking fees upping financial pressure on nurses