Thousands of NHS patients and visitors in England will be able to access free hospital car parking, something already underway at Frome Community Hospital, under a new approach set out by Health Secretary Matt Hancock.

Currently, NHS trusts are responsible for making their own car parking arrangements, including setting any charges. But Frome has long insisted that its car park is free, even if at times, there are complaints about over crowding.

From April, all 206 hospital trusts in England will be expected to provide free car parking to groups that may be frequent hospital visitors, or those disproportionately impacted by daily or hourly charges for parking, including:

- blue badge holders

- frequent outpatients who have to manage long-term conditions

Free parking will also be offered at specific times of day to certain groups, including:

- parents of sick children staying in hospital overnight

- staff working night shifts

That change will apply to the main Bath hospital.

Technology has helped a number of trusts to improve their parking, and the Department of Health and Social Care will work with the NHS in the coming months to identify and spread practical parking options that can make the most difference quickly. These could include:

- Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) systems, which use camera technology to scan car number plates

- ticket or token systems where eligible people can them redeem free parking, or receive a refund

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: "This month millions of people put their trust in this government to deliver. One of the concerns mentioned regularly on the doorsteps was that vulnerable people, and staff working nights, have to pay for hospital car parking. So we are today delivering on our manifesto commitment and setting out our new approach to NHS hospital parking charges.

Currently, the situation varies from hospital to hospital, as shown by the example of the Frome hospital which is on Enos Way.

The charges for parking at RUH in Bath are currently:

Up to 20 minutes - free

Up to 1 hour - £2.00

Up to 2 hours - £3.00

Up to 4 hours - £4.00

Over 4 hours and up to 24 hours - £6.00

7-day ticket - £15.00.