Health Boards Ordered to Impose 3-a-Day Parking Limit

By STEWART PATERSON

HEALTH boards were yesterday told to implement a cap on hospital parking charges “without delay”.

Nicola Sturgeon, the Health Secretary, said the L3 maximum daily charge she laid down last year should now be applied at all sites.

The review group she set up to investigate charging for parking at hospitals advised it should be free, with charges introduced only once all other options to enable access have been exhausted.

Ms Sturgeon stepped in after campaigns across the country were launched, with staff and patient groups protesting against the charging policies of health boards.

She said: “I decided in December to introduce a cap of L3 a day, which boards should implement without delay. Evidence from a number of health boards shows that charging high daily rates is not the only way to discourage or control unauthorised parking and I agree with the group’s recommendation that all other avenues should be explored before charges are introduced.”

Health officials in Glasgow said they would take steps to have the new charges put in place within weeks. A spokeswoman for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said changes would be made at Gartnavel Hospital, Western Infirmary, the Yorkhill site and the headquarters at Dalian House.

“We had already launched a local review of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde’s car parking policy, ” she added.

The latest guidance applies to facilities provided by the NHS board or a commercial concern. A further review will look at car parks covered by existing PFI contracts.

John Jack, director of facilities with NHS Lothian, said: “NHS Lothian does not make any money from car parking as, in line with current guidelines, any income must be reinvested to offset the costs associated with the provision of effective traffic management at our hospitals.

“This guidance affects only the Western General Hospital at this stage. However, we have estimated the loss in income will be around L20,000 a year.”

In Grampian, health officials said they would not be affected as they currently have a L1 a day fee for staff and L1 per visit for visitors The revised guidance also says health boards must ensure there is a reasonable allocation of parking spaces to allow patients and carers to attend clinics and appointments. Staff must also have a reasonable allocation of spaces.

Health workers’ union leaders welcomed the guidance but warned some people will still be penalised.

Tom Waterson, chairman of Unison’s Scottish health group, said: “Even L3 per day is a significant amount if you are low-paid or have to visit a hospital regularly.”

Originally published by Newsquest Media Group.

(c) 2008 Herald, The; Glasgow (UK). Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.