Parking charges will start again for staff in hospitals across Northern Ireland from September.
During the Covid pandemic, parking fees were stopped for health and social care workers in order to help them with the increased pressures.
This was due to end on July 31, however, Health Minister Robin Swann has now announced he has extended the free parking period until August 31, when normal charges will resume.
Mr Swann said car parking at Northern Ireland's hospitals "is at a premium" as the charges were required in order to reduce accessibility issues for patients.
The Minister said: “Free car parking for HSC staff was introduced in March 2020 at a time when Northern Ireland was feeling the first impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. As we move into recovery phase and focus on rebuilding, the HSC car parking is required once again by returning patients and visitors.
“Car parking is at a premium on several hospital sites across Northern Ireland, causing accessibility issues for patients and visitors. This is impacting on patient appointments and visiting sessions because of the lengthy queues forming to gain access to our hospitals. It will therefore be necessary to return to the normal charging regime to preserve parking spaces for patients.”
The Minister also thanked health workers for their efforts during the pandemic which has allowed us to take "small steps" back to normality.
He concluded: "I want to reiterate my sincere gratitude to all HSC staff for their work during this pandemic. Whilst it is not over yet, we are now in a different place than this time last year. I hope we can continue taking small steps back to full normality."
