THE inconsistency of hospital car park charging is something which riles many of us.

Often the costings don’t makes sense, don’t add up and don’t seem fair at all.

The issue arises again as it has just been revealed hospital car parks in Essex are among the most expensive in the country.

Even among the county’s three hospitals – Basildon, Southend and Broomfield – there’s inexplicable disparity.

For example, Southend Hospital charges £3.10 for up to three hours…while Basildon and Broomfield charge £3 for a one-hour only stay.

How’s that fair?

And, £3-plus for a starting cost seems excessive. After all you may only be popping in for half-an-hour to see a friend or relative.

New research shows hospitals across the country bagged a mind-blowing £174,526,970 in parking charges in 2016/17 – the biggest annual return ever by some margin.

Yet hospital parking in Scotland and Wales is often free.

Again. How’s that fair?

People are generally quite sceptical about where all this excess cash goes.

If it’s (all?) being ploughed back into strapped NHS services, then hospital bosses should reveal exactly where it is going.

And if we are paying more at our Essex hospitals then does that mean more of that money is benefiting patients in Essex? That would seem fair. But I doubt it happens.

I’d suggest a little more transparency about where this parking cash is being spent in 2018 would go some way to quelling people’s ongoing frustrations.