By Phil Ward, Health Correspondent
West Suffolk Hospital has opened an extra operating theatre to remove an arm and a leg from visitors forced to pay the new hospital car park charges.
Health bosses have raised parking costs to an eye-watering £2 an hour, meaning a four-hour stay will now cost £8 instead of the previous charge of just £4.80.
One hospital visitor said: “It will now officially cost an arm and a leg to park at the hospital in Bury St Edmunds to visit my mother every day as she recovers from an operation.
“Fortunately, West Suffolk Hospital has thought about this and set up a new operating theatre to enable it to remove those limbs from drivers with as little fuss as possible.”
Health chiefs insist motorists who do not want to pay an arm and a leg can instead take out a pay-day loan.
A spokesman said: “We are in early talks with Wonga and other loan companies about sponsoring the car park. There has been a lot of interest – about 5,000%, in fact.”
