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Government consults on hospital car park charges

30/12/2009

The Government is seeking to revise the way that NHS hospitals charge for car parking, in a bid to make the system "fairer".

Potential changes, mooted in a consultation launched by Health Secretary Andy Burnham, could see inpatients given a permit allowing free parking for their visitors. This would either be applicable to all patients - irrespective of how long they spend in hospital - or would only take effect once patients have endured a "long stay".

Also under consideration are free parking, or a cap on charges, for those attending a series of outpatient appointments.

The proposals follow discussion of the issue at September's Labour Party conference, at which Burnham announced his intention to scrap parking charges for all inpatients over a three-year period.

Explaining the reasoning behind the consultation, Burnham said: "At the moment charging practice varies greatly and the public have no clear sense of the principles beneath it.

"I want to see a fairer and more consistent approach to parking across the NHS, which recognises the pressure that patients and their families come under.

"People in hospital are often at a low point in their lives - emotionally and financially - and high parking charges can add to stress or limit visits from family and friends," he added.

While patient groups have welcomed the consultation, some hospitals have expressed concern at the potential loss of revenue. Moreover, in cases where private firms operate hospital car parks under contract it is feared that NHS trusts may have to pay compensation for lost earnings.

Responding to concerns raised by the Lancashire Telegraph that this would be the case for the East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, a Department for Health spokesperson said: "If it is cost-effective to break that contract then that can be done, or if it is more effective to renegotiate that contract, then that can be done.

However, he warned that in either case, the cost of reimbursing parking companies would have to be "absorbed through other savings made by the trust".