CAR parking charges are to be introduced at Okehampton and other community hospitals across Mid Devon, the area?s Primary Care Trust has confirmed. Mid Devon PCT says it will keep the charges to just 60p an hour ? up to a maximum of £2.40 a day ? when ticket machines are introduced imminently. Nick Pearson, trust spokesman, said a considerable amount of time was being spent by staff managing inconsiderate and even potentially dangerous parking. He said: ?While our staff do their best to control this type of parking, it is very difficult to argue that it is a good use of their time. ?We think most people would think it wrong that NHS staff were spending time sorting out parking disputes instead of doing what they are paid to do.? Mr Pearson said the revenue from car parking charges would be spent locally. ?After a small proportion is deducted to cover the costs of enforcement, the revenue will be reinvested in the local NHS, providing more services for local people. That means more money for things like nurses and other frontline resources,? he said. He added that though some people may need to travel to hospital by car, others might choose to travel by bus, taxi or to walk to hospital. He said disabled blue badge holders would be exempt from parking charges. Patients, relatives and carers who frequently attend hospital can also apply for a temporary permit. Mr Pearson said the trust would not be wheel clamping or towing anyone?s vehicle away if they overstayed. The standard fine would be £30, but there would be a 50% discount if paid within seven days. The Mid Devon Patient and Public Involvement Forum said it was not against charging for car parking at community hospitals in principle. But the forum did have some concerns about the proposals. The forum asked the trust to reconsider the decision to charge over 24 hours which seemed ?unreasonable and excessive?, and said it also considered that costs should not exceed those of district councils in their town car parks. Mr Pearson said the trust welcomed the views of the forum. He said the PCT did not consider it would be fair only to charge those who made use of the hospital during the day and so it had introduced the parking fee across the board. The PCT had also done a lot of work prior to this decision to make sure its charges were in line with what district councils currently charged, he said. The forum said its other concern was that people would use the roads outside or close to hospitals to park, in order to avoid charges, and this could cause traffic problems and upset residents. The forum recognised that as this was not a significant change to services the PCT was not legally obliged to consult the public about this. It called for the PCT to provide greater public information about the changes, the reasons behind it and the exemption and discounts which were available for vulnerable members of the community. Mr Pearson said reception staff at the hospital had been issued with guidance to help make the public aware of the charging procedure.