16.03.12
Parking fee increases ‘exorbitant’ – Patients Association
NHS hospital parking fees have been criticised as a ‘tax on the sick’, with over a quarter of trusts having increased prices in the year to last April, figures from 197 hospitals and mental health trusts show.
Patient groups have called for parking to be free, as it mostly is inScotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. However, this would mean taking £100m from the care budget, ministers say.
Data showed that 28% of trusts increased parking fees, whilst 16% decreased the price. London and the south east have the highest fees generally, whereas the south west has the lowest fees.
Patients Association chief executive Katherine Murphy described parking charges as “exorbitant” for those who have to attend hospital regularly.
She said: “It is often money patients do not have in these troubled financial times and is a tax on the sick when people have already paid for their health service. Hospitals should be properly supported by the Government and should not have to rely on charging patients and visitors to park to make ends meet.”
Health minister Simon Burns said: “NHS organisations must make the best use of public funds, and this includes setting car parking charges at a rate which is reasonable for the communities they serve and provides appropriate concessions.
“No one should be paying extortionate amounts to park in an NHS car park, but introducing free hospital car parking could cost the NHS more than £100m – money that would otherwise be spent on patient care.”
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