ANGRY patients have accused Whipps Cross University Hospital of ‘exploitation’ after it hiked up parking charges by a staggering 25 per cent.

People using the car park on a daily basis say the increase - which is nearly eight times the rate of inflation - is unjustifable, and will leave many poorer visitors seriously out of pocket.

Out-patient, Geoff Brown, arrived for his weekly physiotherapy appointment on April 1 to find that the minimum tariff had jumped from £2 for two hours stay to £2.50 - overnight.

The father-of-three, from White Hall Road, in Woodford Green, claims patients were not warned about the change - which left some unable to make their appointments in time because they had not arrived with the correct change.

He said: “I couldn’t believe it when I saw how much it had risen by.

“It’s unbelievable really, when you think how tough things are for people at the moment. I don’t know how they can possibly justify raising the charge by such a big amount.

“I usually pick up a copy of the Guardian on my way to Whipps and use the £2 change to pay for the parking - but I had to put in £3 this time because the machines don’t give change.

The retired printer added: “The hospital is simply squeezing more money out of a captive market, because lots of patients are unable to use public transport for one reason or another.

“We have an ageing population and some people don’t feel safe enough to get the bus.

“I only pay the minimum charge for a short stop here, but just think how much people are going to have to pay if they stay all day, every day of the week.”

Fellow outpatient, grandmother-of-five Pat Ilett described the price rise as ‘diabolical.’ She said: “This is completely out of order. They should tell us who it is who makes these decisions because we never seem to get any explanation.

“I’m sure this will go to a bunch of fat cats who are creaming off the top.

“Old people are on the bare minimum but they still need to go to the hospital. There should be at least a free parking period for a set time before they start charging.

“That 50p could be used to buy a loaf of bread or some other food. It’s completely unfair.”

Whipps Cross University Hospital has yet to comment on the issue.