Furious patients have blasted three GP surgeries for wanting to charge them to park, labelling it a 'bloody cheek'. Whitstable Medical Practice is planning to bring in a £1 charge for four hours parking at the trio of surgeries it runs in the Kent town. But patients say they feel like they are being punished for being ill and questioned why they haven't been told the reason behind the new fee. Medical practice boss Dr John Ribchester insisted they didn't want to introduce the charges but 'we have a gun to our heads' as they need to fund a £1.25 million overflow car park at one of the surgeries. The charge will first be introduced at its facility in Chestfield, and will later be rolled out across its other two sites: Estuary View and Whitstable Health Centre. Local resident Iain Thompson, 58, blasted the charges as 'outrageous'. The former tree surgeon has bowel cancer and a stoma, meaning he visits the GP regularly. He said: 'It would be different if it were a shop. It's a doctor's surgery. You're not coming here for pleasure; you're coming here for your health. '[The charges are] another £4 or £5 a week I've got to find. How can I afford that?' Derek Roberts, 83, who has been going to the GP for 20 years, agreed stating that the new charges are a 'disgrace.' He added: 'I think it is a bloody cheek. I have paid a lot of money throughout my life for this surgery, and I think that is enough. 'If we can't park in here without paying we would probably have to walk. But when you aren't well like my wife is today a 15-minute walk just isn't possible.' Teresa Chrystal, 52, says patients registered with the surgery received a text on Sunday March 30 to tell them about the new charges. But, she complained that the message did not include any details about why, when, and how they were to pay on the new scheme. She said: 'If they were doing this to buy something for the surgery such as equipment then I wouldn't have a problem with it. But they haven't given us a reason for why they are doing it. 'If they had given us six months' notice, why, and what they were using it for then people would have been okay with it. They have not been very professional about it. 'A lot of people are not happy with it. I have trouble walking so I need to park here. 'If you are going to the surgery in a hurry or in an emergency then you aren't going to be thinking about parking, so I hope they are lenient with that.' Another resident, Margate Albin, 69, is also 'annoyed' by the scheme. She said: 'It is another charge, and we wonder if it will be raised. It is not [patients'] fault for being ill.' Khaled Hamed, 44, said: 'It is annoying that we have to pay to come to the doctors. 'I have kids so it's hard to park far away when we need to get them here. I don't know what we will do if they introduce the charges.' Medical practice boss Dr John Ribchester says the money is needed to fund a £1.25 million overflow car park at Estuary View. He said: 'This is a situation where we feel we have a gun to our heads. We did not want to introduce it at any price. 'Estuary View is on the edge of town, and there are no car parks or roads for parking, so we have to provide a car park.' He said that while most patients will be charged £1 for four hours, there will be some exemptions, such as for Blue Badge holders. There will also be a 10-minute grace period for drop-offs, and some of the surgery's regular users will be entitled to free parking on a case-by-case basis. But many patients at Whitstable Health Centre and Chestfield Medical Centre expressed concerns that they will be paying to fund a car park that they will not benefit from. Meanwhile, a patient from Estuary View GP, where the new car park will be built, agreed that the £1 needs to be scrapped. Trevor, 76, who declined to give his surname, said: 'All this will make people do is park further away and walk down. 'They haven't really told us much about it. I think it is disgraceful. I don't think it is right to charge people to go to the GP. 'My back is playing up and so is my wife's, so we can't walk down. So we will pay the pound because we have no other choice.' Dr Ribchester added that the practice also hopes the charges will stop users of the neighbouring Whitstable Rugby Club from using up the GP surgery's spaces. Whitstable Rugby Club chairman Calvin Smith revealed he is seeking legal advice on the 'ill-thought-out' measures - as he believes the new charges will actually drive patients into their car park. He said: 'Medical centre patients have to come through our car park to get there. 'If they start charging them, patients are going to park in our spaces and we will have to bring in a scheme. 'It will have cost implications, but also make us unpopular by bringing in ANPR or a barrier. 'It is something we really don't want to do.