NHS patients and visitors pay up to ?4 an hour to park at hospitals

[super jumbe]

NHS trusts charge visitors and patients up to ?4 an hour to park at hospitals.

The average charge is ?1.15, but it is ?3 at both the Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital and Countess of Chester Hospital and ?4 at Birmingham Women?s NHS Foundation Trust.

Data from the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) revealed that The Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust also charges ?3.

The Whittington Hospital NHS Trust in London also charges ?3 per hour while the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust charges ?2.50.

Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust charges ?2.60 per hour and in Ealing, west London, the cost is ?2.30.

Visitors are charged ?2 per hour in Lewisham, south London, ?2.50 at Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, and ?2 at Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust.

A Department of Health spokeswoman said: ?Patients who have to attend hospital regularly or for long periods of time have a fundamental right to fair and appropriate car parking concessions, and we expect hospital trusts to provide them.

?NHS organisations set their own car parking policies and should work with their local communities to set them fairly and appropriately.?

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/nhs-patients-visitors-pay-up-2417419

[ajax2061]

local hospital to me you just buzz the gate and say you got no money and they let you out

[gopher7]

A lot of hospitals were built using PPI money, the trusts have to get the money somewhere to pay off the debt.

[alec]

NHS trusts charge visitors and patients up to ?4 an hour to park at hospitals.

The average charge is ?1.15, but it is ?3 at both the Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital and Countess of Chester Hospital and ?4 at Birmingham Women***8217;s NHS Foundation Trust.

Data from the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) revealed that The Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust also charges ?3.

The Whittington Hospital NHS Trust in London also charges ?3 per hour while the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust charges ?2.50.

Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust charges ?2.60 per hour and in Ealing, west London, the cost is ?2.30.

Visitors are charged ?2 per hour in Lewisham, south London, ?2.50 at Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, and ?2 at Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust.

A Department of Health spokeswoman said: ***8220;Patients who have to attend hospital regularly or for long periods of time have a fundamental right to fair and appropriate car parking concessions, and we expect hospital trusts to provide them.

***8220;NHS organisations set their own car parking policies and should work with their local communities to set them fairly and appropriately.***8221;

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/nhs-patients-visitors-pay-up-2417419

What irritates me is when deceitful Politicians say that NSH is free at the point of service. Try telling that to an NSH dentist, or park at a hospital, and then there are medicines.

[ajax2061]

and then there are medicines.

thank god for being exempt, well I wish I wasnt ill enough to be exempt but glad I am also...though it dont cover eye tests and dentist

[bobwill]

Motorist have always been a cash cow and always will be .But to be fair to two hospitals I have used who did not charge for parking,
locals and others use to park there car at the hospital and go home or walk into town. So they had to charge more than the local car parks
so spaces where left for hospital visitors

[GastonJ]

At this time when the NHS is having to save money I can see why. Land isn't free and has ongoing costs which the trusts have to pay for. Hospitals have been charging for years anyway so this isn't news really is it. I'm pretty sure that if a trust decided to provide free parking by employing less doctors and nurses the press would have a field day. Any trust that decided not to provide car parks due to cost would soon have complaints and the press on it's case again.... The car is king.

Trusts just can't win, damned if they do, damned if they don't.

I dare say, if car parks were so profitable that the government would force trusts to give the land to private companies and let the private companies take all the profit. Hope the government don't read Dk.........

[Kalipo]

Its 60p reich marks in our hospital..

Saying that.. there are 3 hospitals ..

Bury, Rochdale and Oldham.. all had A&E but they closed 2 of them down leaving oldham to deal with the hole lot.. so you cant park anyway... god forsaken shithole..