HOSPITAL car parking fees (Echo, Sept 24) can be traced back to the Thatcher era when the pursuit of money had precedence over any moral considerations or ideas of probity.

This gave rise to a generation of corporate managers who mirrored the old image of the ducking and diving street trader.

Their main aim seems to be to extract as much money from those least able to avoid or afford such demands and line the coffers (and indirectly their own pockets) of their organisations regardless of local protest.

Indeed a complete indifference to local opinion is considered a badge of honour to these “officials”.

Parking fees generally were initially justified as a means to avoid traffic congestion.

They were never intended as an indirect tax on local residents, and particularly the sick and vulnerable.

I recently attended Bishop Auckland Hospital as an outpatient when an emergency resulted in the sudden announcement of a 90-minute wait.

The resultant panic in the waiting room as people tried to extend the length of time on their parking tickets would have done credit to a Brian Rix farce.

V Connor, Bishop Auckland.