PARKING charges have netted more than £4million for hospitals across Kent, according to figures obtained by the Kent Messenger Group.

Previously undisclosed data shows that hospital trusts are raising hundreds of thousands of pounds from patients and visitors in parking ticket fees.

The figures were produced as a result of a request made by the Kent Messenger Group under the Freedom of Information Act.

Over the last three years, the overall sum raised by hospitals in Kent - excluding Medway - has reached £4.3million.

And while in most cases the money raised is put back into patient care, the sums involved are far smaller because of the sums involved in paying private operators to manage and operate car parks.

In north Kent, charges imposed by the Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust have raised more than £1.5million in the last three years, principally at the Darent Valley Hospital.

But the amount of money available to the trust to re-invest in patient care is substantially less, once the operating costs of the private contractors who run the service are taken into account.

The trust says that its contractors Meteor Parking Limited have been paid £1.47million for both running its car parks and for providing external security to the hospital - leaving about £337,000 for patient care.

The East Kent NHS Trust received the most from parking charges. Between 2002 and 2005, it raised £1.8million, principally from the William Harvey in Ashford, the Kent and Canterbury Hospital in Canterbury and the Queen Elizabeth Queen Mother Hospital in Thanet.

This year, the amount of money raised from parking tickets - £844,750 - was more than double the amount raised in 2002, when tickets fees gave the trust £338,000.

However, the amount of money actually being re-invested in patient services from parking fees is a far smaller amount.

Other figures reveal that the costs to the trust of operating its car parks was about £740,000 over the same period, cutting significantly the sums available.

Parking fees range from £1.70 for up to three hours to £6.00 for eight to 24 hours. Prior to 2004, the trust contracted private operators to run its car parks but all are now run in-house.

In west Kent, the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust raised more than £1million over the three-year period.

While the trust has a policy of re-investing any surplus in patient services, it would not say how much it had to pay its private contractors who, until July last year, operated its car parks.

It said the details did not have to be disclosed under the contract the trust had with the company.

However, since ending the private contract and doing the work in-house, operational costs have totalled £65,026.

The trust said: "All the surplus generated from the car park income is invested into trust services [patient care] rather than being ring-fenced and usd to fund a particular service."

Patients and visitors to the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells hospitals pay £1 for first hour; £1.50 for one to three hours £1.50 and £3 for tree to five hours. Over five hours and the fee is £5.00.