Hospital car-parking charges.

[Leekbrookgull]

Already scrapped in Wales,Scotland to follow and Northern Ireland looking to scrap car-parking charges. Yet surprise surprise Nhs Hospital in England are set to carry on charging.

 

[northstandnorth]

and we will soon be the only ones paying prescription charges,eye test fees and struggle to find a NHS dentist, all our money is going to subsidise the welsh, haggis munchers and paddies.


is it not enough we have to support the northern monkeys?

 

[Lord Bracknell]

The thing about Wales and Scotland is, of course, that they still have a national health service. We have local Primary Care Trusts that aren't accountable ... even at a local level.

 

[ben andrews' girlfriend]

As far as I know, the money that is made from the car parks (at soton anyway) doesn't go to the PCTs / NHS

 

[Lord Bracknell]

As far as I know, the money that is made from the car parks (at soton anyway) doesn't go to the PCTs / NHS

It depends on the hospital.

Where PFI money has been used, car park income goes to the private sector "investor".

 

[Stevie Boy]

when i go to my hospital, i dont pay for the car park, i pay my taxes etc so they can take it from that

 

[British Bulldog]

If hospitals like Worthing scrapped charges you'd have half the working population of Worthing using it as a free car park, There would be no benefit to patients.

 

[Peteinblack]

Sadly, this is what you must expect when public services are turned into corporate businesses, and making (or saving) money becomes their main concern.

 

[Beach Hut]

If hospitals like Worthing scrapped charges you'd have half the working population of Worthing using it as a free car park, There would be no benefit to patients.

Very true as right on the edge of town

 

[fatbadger]

Scotland to follow

except where the car park was built under a PFI contract, in which case it will be too expensive to withdraw from the deal.

Can anybody think of a single good reason to support the PFI scheme (other than the contractors who are laughing all the way to the bank)? And can anyone think why a government which has forced such stupidity on the NHS, local authorities and so on should ever get the vote of an intelligent, caring human being? f***ing tossers.

 

[Peteinblack]

Well said, 'fatbadger'.

 

[blue'n'white]

My local hospital ramped the car park charges up to the max - the excuse being that commuters used to park there and walk to the local station (all of 1.5 - 2 miles away and with a free car park) in order to avoid paying the railway's car park charges. I think if you leave the car there all day it's something like £25 which is, quite frankly, criminal.
I recently had occasion to visit another hospital in a different PCT (Frimley Park)and that was much more realstically priced at about £1 per hour and went up to £10 for a weekly ticket.

 

[Alex Alex Dawson oo! oo!]

If the Royal Surrey Hospital in Guildford didn't charge, it would be filled by people who work at the adjoining Research Business Park.
The Tesco superstore is a free alternative for patients and visitors (for up to 3 hours) provided they can walk the additional 800m or so.

 

[Tricky Dicky]

My local hospital ramped the car park charges up to the max - the excuse being that commuters used to park there and walk to the local station (all of 1.5 - 2 miles away and with a free car park) in order to avoid paying the railway's car park charges. I think if you leave the car there all day it's something like £25 which is, quite frankly, criminal.
I recently had occasion to visit another hospital in a different PCT (Frimley Park)and that was much more realstically priced at about £1 per hour and went up to £10 for a weekly ticket.

What about some sort of validation system, where it was free to those who could prove they were using the hospital. Not quite sure how you would achieve that though.

I go to Worthing hosp quite a lot, but always use the other c/p over the road, which is a pay & display one.

 

[bhafc99]

except where the car park was built under a PFI contract, in which case it will be too expensive to withdraw from the deal.

Which means the main hospitals in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dundee...

Still, it's good news for most Scots.

 

[bhaexpress]

I've just turned down a job at an NHS trust as despite the fact I would be working at their hospitals I was expected to pay £6 per day to park. Bearing in mind that the nearest one to me would take me well over twice as long to get to by public transport it would also cost more. Additionally I am supposed to do a couple of weeks at a hospital that can only be accessed from where I am by train then a 30 minute walk on narrow roads with no pavement.

 

[Hannibal smith]

I think hospital parking charges are in a lot of cases fair enough. At 2 hospitals I regularly visit they are close to or in the town centre. With low or no parking charges the car parks would be full of cars that are nothing to do with the hospital – Everyone then complained you couldn’t get a space.

If you really want free parking then it a society attitude change that is required which is never going to happen quickly. In any case, we get free health care and that costs billions – Is it too much to ask that you get charged a few quid for parking if you are earning money especially in areas where alternative public transport makes the hospital easily accessible?

Also, most of the Scottish car parks were only charging a pound and the money was being used for maintenance and upkeep of the car park. That money will now have to found from elsewhere (of which there is no budget). To me, this is more an opportunity to score political points as the old system here wasn’t exactly unfair.