Doctors and nurses at a Haywards Heath hospital could be forced to pay up to £60 to park in the grounds where they work.

Bosses at the Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath are considering introducing permit charges for staff to bring the hospital in line with the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton.

Staff in Brighton have to pay for a permit, weighted according to salary. The proposals for Haywards Heath mean those on less than £20,000 would pay £18 a year, those on between £20,000 and £40,000 would pay £42 a year and anyone earning more than £40,000 would pay £60 a year.

At the Princess Royal parking is free but the Brighton and Hove University Hospitals NHS Trust wants to introduce equivalent charges so it is standard across the board.

Nursing union Unison said the proposed charges were a further attack on low-paid staff.

Mark Sargent, Mid Sussex Health branch secretary, said: "The car parking policy is still under consultation and a proposal has been brought forward which we are not overly happy with. Staff have until December 18 to respond but it isn't likely to be a positive response.

"The charges themselves are not going to be particularly great but when you don't pay anything at the moment it means you are effectively paying for the privilege of getting to work.

"Many staff think it may cause a recruitment and retention problem and, although some will accept parking charges, they are saying if you pay more you should expect more in return.

"If you are going to be charged but are guaranteed a space it would be much more acceptable."

Mr Sargent added the policy the hospital was considering only looked at short-term car parking and bosses needed to take a long-term approach in order for it to be successful.

There were also concerns that introducing parking permits would force some staff to park in residential streets and block them further.

Mid Sussex district councillor Anne Jones said: "I am concerned for the staff because certainly a lot of staff don't earn very much in Mid Sussex and don't have access to public transport.

"If the hospital is doing it to maximise revenue then I think it should talk to people in the surrounding areas about how their lives will be impinged upon."

Trust spokesman Ian Keeber said: "The money from this would be invested in new security issues around the hospital.

"The system we operate in Brighton is staggered and based on salaries so those who can afford to pay more do.

"The whole point of consultation is so we can spend some time explaining to staff what is proposed and that there is a very limited range of things we can do."