Free parking for all staff at the Royal Cornwall Hospital is due to end next month because of the growing congestion it has been causing, the hospital has said.

Parking on trust’s sites has remained free for staff since the first lockdown in March. Prior to that charging had been in place for staff and visitors since around 1992. Visitor charges, which were also suspended in March, were reintroduced earlier this month.

On top of that free parking that had been provided for NHS staff by Truro Golf Club is also expected to end of Friday with the announcement by Boris Johnson that the lockdown ends on December 2, which means the golf club is likely to reopen.

However the hospital said the community had been wonderful in coming together during the this period by providing free parking for NHS staff.

A spokesperson from the hospital said: “Like all NHS hospitals, since March we have offered parking free for our staff and patients and were supported, too, by our local community, including Truro Golf Club, Truro & Penwith College, Treliske Retail Park and the nearby church, with free parking for our staff.

“As those additional spaces reduced when their activities and services resumed, this led to severe congestion on the Royal Cornwall Hospital, Treliske site, causing delays for staff getting into work and for patients coming to appointments. This has meant we now need to ask those colleagues who work core hours to return to using the park and ride service.

“Parking charges for patients were reintroduced earlier this month and to maintain parity between those colleagues who will pay to use the park and ride and those who park on site, we are proposing to resume charging for staff on our sites next month.”