Barbara wrote on Jun 29^th, 2011 at 12:30pm:

The most sensible way forward would seem to be that current schemes are looked at on a central basis rather than each hospital trust doing it locally.

Different locations might warrant different solutions.

I am all in favour of replacing car park charges with some other solution where possible.

One other thing to bear in mind is that where hospitals are on bus routes, their car parks might become a haven to an unofficial park and ride service.

What about the deficit caused by the loss of revenue from parking charges?


sherbert wrote on Jun 30^th, 2011 at 12:07pm:

As an advocate and campaigner on a particular issue, it is surely up to the campaigner himself or herself to justify to others why such a change should be made. The campaigner cannot decide what is a suitable level of justification.

If others are not convinced, then it is not up to them to justify to the campaigner why this is the case. Only the campaigner must give justification and not the other way around. The fact that you resort to asking others to justify their position suggests serious weakness in your campaign.

Such tactics may be sufficient to win over audiences of daytime chat shows and the readerships of certain newspapers. Of course, when it goes wrong because of lack of consideration for the issues involved, they will simply blame those who enacted it (hospital trusts).


Barbara wrote on Jun 30^th, 2011 at 12:22pm:

I believe that the opposite is the case. Hospital car parks are covered by CCTV and are therefore more secure whereas side roads are often not. Even where roads are covered, I feel that cars will be more likely targets on them than in hospital car parks.

sherbert wrote on Jun 30^th, 2011 at 2:49pm:

...and even in the face of my above comments, you continue to ask questions of those you are apparently attempting to convince. 

sherbert wrote on Jun 30^th, 2011 at 3:31pm:

The removal of parking charges would result in those revenues being removed from hospitals' budgets.


sherbert wrote on Jun 30^th, 2011 at 3:31pm:

The comments I have made are in response to other postings and I would have made them irrespective of whether I was a moderator or not. I do not see that my moderator status should mean that I must restrict what I may post.

Apparently the first three and a half hours in one of the car parks at the Arrowe Park Hospital in Wirral are free.

There is also a free park and ride bus service available

Well done to Wirral NHS Trust


http://www.whnt.nhs.uk/practical_information/arrowe_park/parking.html

Living in the big cities there is plenty of public transport to get to the hospitals and for very little money, indeed the old folk do not have to pay for bus fares in this country at all. As I have already mentioned, I have yet to see a doctor charging for his car park, mine certainly doesn't, anymore than Tescos, Sainsburys et al.

I have sought to draw attention to 20 "significant" cases of continuing breaches of the DH Directions with a media release today.

If anyone is aware of other "significant" cases that I have missed, please let me know.

The Mid Yorkshire Hospitals contact page now gives alternatives for all its 0844 numbers.

For some reason, it has decided to give the call rates charged by one particular provider, despite the fact that these apply to few people:

Quote:

This is the sort of thing I'd expect from marketing material of BT's competitors so as to make its charges appear better than they actually are.

BT's most popular package is the Anytime one which means that geographic and 03 calls are zero fee. Yet the Trust claims that "a standard BT line" charges 7.6 pence per minute (as at September 2011).

'Tax on the sick': One in four hospitals increase parking fees - some by up to 200 per cent

By Daily Mail Reporter

PUBLISHED: 08:15, 16 March 2012 | UPDATED: 08:17, 16 March 2012


More than one in four hospital trusts have increased car parking charges, an NHS survey has found.

Some hospitals in England have raised charges by up to 200 per cent, with patients and their families and friends paying up to £3.50 an hour.

Hospital parking – which is free for most people in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – earns the NHS more than £100million a year.
Under fire: The NHS has been criticised over its car park charges

Under fire: The NHS has been criticised over its car park charges

Campaigners condemned the ‘scandalous’ rises as a ‘tax on the sick’ and urged hospitals to follow government guidelines offering concessions to patients with long term illnesses, including cancer.

The figures show 28 per cent of trusts surveyed increased their average hourly parking charge for patients and visitors from last year and only 17 per cent reduced it.

Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust charged patients 200 per cent more this year, increasing prices from 25p an hour on average to 75p an hour.

Separate analysis found some trusts charge much more than the national average (77p) for an hour’s hospital parking, based on the average from a three-hour stay.
Defence: MP Simon Burns pointed out that the charges are used for patient care

Defence: MP Simon Burns pointed out that the charges are used for patient care

Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust charges £2.50 an hour on average, with an hour’s stay costing £3.50.

Data analysts SSentif looked at figures given to the NHS Information Centre by 197 hospital and mental health trusts.

Duleep Allirajah, head of policy at  Macmillan Cancer Support, said: ‘This is scandalous news that some hospital trusts are raising revenue by increasing hospital parking charges. Charging patients for using hospital car parks is a tax on illness. We want every hospital in England to comply with the Government’s guidance to provide free or concessionary parking for patients travelling regularly to hospital for treatment.’

Health Minister Simon Burns said: ‘No one should be paying extortionate amounts to park in an NHS car park.

‘But introducing free hospital car parking could cost the NHS more than £100million – money that would otherwise be spent on patient care.’


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/cars/article-2115769/Tax-sick-One-hospitals-inc...