Staff permits will also increase

It will now cost �10 to park for more than four hours at the Treliske site in Truro, an increase of �7.60. Visitors pay �1.70 for up to two hours, up 50p.

People visiting West Cornwall Hospital and St Michael's at Hayle will have to pay for the first time and staff permits will also rise.

Managers say the fees will help pay off a �15.7m debt.

Treliske also says the increased car parking charges will stop people choosing to park at the hospital instead of in the city.

Funding 'not right'

But objections have been raised in the county which is one of the poorest places in England.

Campaigners blame unfair funding, in which government money is based on average local wages, for the trust's cash crisis.

The government's Market Forces Factor (MFF) formula assumes that it costs less to pay staff in rural areas and funding from the Department of Health is adjusted accordingly.

But most NHS staff are paid according to a nationally-agreed wage scale.

A 2004 report to the SHA revealed that Devon and Cornwall lost �100m a year because of the funding formula and it wants funding to be readjusted.

Health campaigner Glyn White from Penzance said: "I can't believe what they are doing.

"We have argued long and hard that the funding is not right for Cornwall and there should be an independent review.

"What they are now saying is that we have a debt and you the public must pay this debt."

The Department of Health was unavailable for comment.