HOSPITAL staff are being "bullied and harassed" by debt collectors hired to chase unpaid parking tickets on behalf of a private firm contracted to run some NHS car parks.

Trade union, Unison, said it was alarmed over the number of staff at Glasgow Royal Infirmary (GRI) receiving letters warning that their credit rating will be downgraded or wages frozen unless they settle outstanding parking debts at the hospital.

In one case, a disabled worker who has a parking permit and a blue badge was told she must pay £254 for two parking tickets issued in 2016 after briefly leaving her car in a drop-off zone at the GRI because all the spaces - including permit and disabled bays - were full.

Matt McLaughlin, Unison's head of health in Scotland, said: "It is an extreme case but it's not unique, and obviously that's a concern.

"That's what happens when health boards hand over the management of these facilities to private bodies who are only interested in making money and don't give a damn about health workers delivering a service to people in Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

"This is bullying and harassment and financial blackmail, and it's wholly unacceptable.

"In the case of this worker it's even more acute because she has a clear disability and no option but to bring her car to work.

"It just goes to show how insensitive Apcoa and their debt collection agency are."

Parking fees at hospitals in Scotland were abolished in 2009 but the GRI is among a handful of NHS sites which still charge because the car parks are under Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contracts, outwith health board control.

It is run by Apcoa, the UK's largest private parking provider, but unpaid debts are being pursued on the firm's behalf by a Warwickshire-based debt recovery agency called QDR Solicitors.

An administration manager at the hospital, who spoke to the Herald on condition of anonymity, said she had been plagued by worry since receiving a letter from QDR at the end of July telling her she owed £254.

The 66-year-old suffers crippling pain in her joints from rheumatoid arthritis which was exacerbated after she underwent chemotherapy and radiotherapy for breast cancer in 2010.

She is awaiting a knee replacement but cannot walk any distance without pain and uses a walking stick or frame during flare-ups.

She has a blue badge but also chooses to pay £25 a month for a permit to ensure she can park in both disabled and permit bays.

Nonetheless, she said she often struggled to find a space at the time when she was hit with two parking fines in March and June 2016.

She said: "I work off-site a lot because I cover Stobhill, Lightburn and GRI, and I'd often be attending meetings at other NHS sites.

"I used the Castle Street car park because my office is in the old building and it's closest, but I often found if I had to go off-site and come back, all the spaces would be taken up by people without permits or disabled badges.

"The Apcoa people said if there's no spaces you'll just need to park in the multi-storey, but that's too far for me to walk.

"On both occasions [when I was fined] I parked in the drop-off zone. You get 30 minutes and I explained to the car park attendant that I'd come back from being off-site, there were no permit spaces, no disabled bays, I had to get back to work, but I'd come back out every so often and as soon as there was a space I'd move the car.

"It wasn't causing an obstruction, but 30 minutes later I came out and there was a ticket."

The staff member said she raised the issue with her line manager and was eventually told by Apcoa that the fine would be dropped, though nothing was ever put writing.

At the end of July - two years on - she received a letter from QDR Solicitors demanding £254 to settle the outstanding charges.

She said: "My husband is 77 and I'm 66. We've never had an outstanding debt in our lives so it's a constant source of worry.

"It was threatening me with everything under the sun - arresting my wages, affecting my credit rating, you name it.

"I phoned them and they were appallingly rude. All they were interested in was when was I going to pay, and how.

"Then I discovered that lots of people who work here and have permits have been getting these letters too but ignoring them.

"My mistake was phoning them. Everyone's been saying the minute they confirm your address, you've had it. Hence why husband says I should just pay it. But it's a lot of money for me and it just feels so unfair."

QDR Solicitors said it could not comment without permission from its client, Apcoa.

A spokesman for Apcoa said: “Our priority is ensuring there is clear and unobstructed access to and from the hospital’s entrances, emergency ambulance bays and fire exits to provide a safe environment.

"Where vehicles are parked inappropriately, Parking Charge Notices may be issued to customers and have the right to appeal against a Parking Charge Notice.

“There is a Hospital Staff Permit system in place at Glasgow Royal Infirmary which means staff issued with a parking permit that cannot gain access to their designated car park can use the multi-story car park for free.

"This is set out within the terms and conditions for pass holders, and is clearly communicated on site”.