A consultation to
provide fairer hospital car parking to patients was launched today
by the Department of Health.
The consultation outlines a range of options, including:
giving all inpatients free hospital car parking for their
visitors, or only after a long stay; andgiving access to free
parking for outpatients who need to attend a series of
appointments, or placing a cap on charges for priority outpatient
groups who attend regular hospital appointments.
Each inpatient would receive a permit for the length of their
stay, which family and friends can use. Options looking at
providing better subsidised charges for priority outpatient
groups, such as cancer patients and those attending multiple
outpatient appointments, would also be phased in over the next
three years, as efficiency savings from back-office costs and
reducing bureaucracy allow. These savings will be reinvested back
into the NHS where it matters most — for the benefit of patients
and their families.
Health Secretary Andy Burnham said:
"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. I have said I want a more people-centred NHS
and that means giving more attention to these issues to get them
right.
“At the moment charging practice varies greatly and the public
have no clear sense of the principles beneath it. In particular, I
want an approach that helps the sickest people that have to spend
the most time in hospital.
“I am launching this consultation to develop a clear set of
principles which balance fairness with the financial pressures
that hospitals will be under in the coming period. I want to hear
peoples views on how we get this balance right, both from patients
and from staff working in the NHS."
The eight week consultation will close on 23 February 2010 and
views on the proposals are welcome from the public, patients, the
NHS and stakeholders.
Notes to Editors
On 30 September, Health Secretary Andy Burnham announced that
car parking charges for all inpatients would be scrapped over a
three year period.
The consultation on making car parking access fairer for
patients can be found at:
http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Consultations/Liveconsultations/DH_110557
For more information please contact the Department of Health
press office on 020 7210 5221.
Contacts:
Department of Health
Phone: 020 7210 5221
NDS.DH@coi.gsi.gov.uk