SWINDON'S flagship hospital raked in more than £600,000 in parking charges from patients and visitors.

Figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act lift the lid on the money-spinning parking regime run by the town's health chiefs.

Swindon and Marlborough NHS Trust which manages the Great Western Hospital netted £674,000 in parking charges in 2004/5.

The hospital charges 90p an hour or £35 for between eight and 24 hours in its short-stay car park.

Patient care groups described the charges as "morally wrong".

Chief executive of Macmillan Cancer Relief, Peter Cardy, said: "It is shameful that the sickest and most vulnerable people have to pay the most.

"Hospital car parking costs are often the final straw in a long line of extra costs faces by cancer patients."

The figures showed that 12 hospital trusts raised more than £1m in charges.

Oxford Radcliffe Hospital NHS Trust netted £1.3m, while Royal Berkshire & Battle Hospitals Trust in Reading raised £689,000.

The highest total was scooped by University Hospital Birmingham, which raised £1.5m from fees.

Officials at the Department of Health said it was for hospital bosses to decide what to charge, even if it deterred patients from parking at the hospitals.

A DoH spokesman said: "Ultimately it is a matter for individual NHS trusts to decide whether or not to charge for car parking and the level of charges in light of the local circumstances."

Last month, the Adver reported that the GWH made £1.2m in parking fees since it opened three years ago.

But Chris Birdsall, spokesman for Swindon and Marlborough NHS Trust, said the charges were necessary to prevent people from abusing the hospital's car park.

He said: "From our point of view, we can only say what we said before and that is we have car parking charges purely to prevent people using this as a park and ride.

"And also, our hourly rate is not that high.

"Ninety pence an hour is less than quite a lot of other organisations in the country.

"But as we have said before many times, we do have the facility to make concessions where appropriate, so if somebody needs some kind of special dispensation it can be given."