Hospitals in part of Kent are to start charging disabled patients to park for the first time.

The east Kent hospitals trust says “financial pressures” have forced it to ditch a long-running free concession for blue badge holders.

It means from Monday, April 24, disabled motorists or those who care for them will now have to pay a set fee of £2 a day at hospitals including the Kent and Canterbury, William Harvey in Ashford and the QEQM in Margate.

The trust’s director of strategic development and capital planning, Liz Shutler, says a fifth of parking bays at its hospital sites are currently allocated to blue badge holders free of charge.

“Over recent years, we’ve done all we can to keep the status quo and avoid imposing charges that are applied at other Kent and Medway hospital trusts,” she said.

“But the financial pressures that the NHS is facing means that we now have reluctantly decided to introduce modest charges, with a concession, for blue badge holders using our car parks.

“Blue badge holders will only have to pay a flat fee of £2 per day so they do not have to pre-estimate how much parking to buy on arrival or worry about their ticket expiring.

“And those with a blue badge can benefit from other concessions, particularly if they have to attend one of our hospitals on a regular basis as there will be an option to purchase a 14-day ticket for just £6.”

She added that signs will be erected warning of the changes to minimise disruption.