Rising hospital car park costs labelled ‘tax on the sick’
The price of parking in a hospital car park has increased at nearly a third of England’s NHS trusts, new figures reveal, with critics telling Channel 4 News the costs are “exorbitant” and “unfair”.
More than one-in-four hospital trusts have increased parking charges for patients and visitors, according to new data. Hospitals in England make millions of pounds every year from parking, which is free for most people in Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland.
Figures from 197 hospital and mental health trusts found that while some have decreased prices, 28 per cent have upped charges, some by over 100 per cent.
Katherine Murphy, chief executive at the Patients Association, told Channel 4 News some of the charges are “exorbitant”.
She said: “Local trusts have the authority to charge what they want.
“This is unfair on both patients and visitors and very often there is no option but to drive to the hospital, especially if you live in a rural community.”
“It is often money patients do not have in these troubled financial times and is a tax on the sick when people have already paid for their health service.
“Hospitals should be properly supported by the government and should not have to rely on charging patients and visitors to park to make ends meet,” she added.
Where prices have soared
Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust charged patients 200 per cent more in 2010/11 than 2009/10, increasing prices from 25p an hour on average to 75p an hour.
Stockport NHS Foundation Trust and the Royal Marsden cancer hospital in London charged patients 100 per cent more in 2010/11 than 2009/10. They increased prices from 50p an hour on average to £1 an hour.
United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust upped prices 112 per cent, from 67p an hour to £1.42.
North West London Hospitals NHS Trust charged £1.58 an hour on average, up 81 per cent on the 88p it charged the year before.
The figures, analysed by data company SSentif, are provided to the NHS Information Centre by NHS trusts.
Only 16 per cent of trusts reduced their average hourly parking charge for patients and visitors, with 54 per cent making no concession and 28 per cent increasing their charges.
Overall, car parks in hospital trusts in the south west were the most affordable, at an average of 52p per hour.
London and the south east had the most expensive charges at an average of £1.02 per hour.
It is often money patients do not have in these troubled financial times and is a tax on the sick when people have already paid for their health service. Katherine Murphy, Patients Association
Separate analysis found some trusts are charging much more than the national average (77p) for an hour’s hospital parking, based on the average from a three-hour stay.
Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust charges £2.50 an hour on average, with a minimum of £3.50 for up to one hour.
Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in Surrey charges £2 for the first hour, £3 for one to hours and £4 for two to three hours.
Royal Surrey County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust charges £2 for up to two hours and £4 for two to four hours.
Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust charges £1.60 for one hour, £2.10 for two and £4.20 for up to four.
In September 2010, the government announced it would not back a pledge made by Labour to scrap car parking charges in England’s hospitals, saying the plan could not be justified.
NHS trusts make more than £100m a year from charging patients and visitors, although the Department of Health has stopped collecting the figures centrally.
Health Minister Simon Burns said: “We expect patients whose healthcare needs require frequent or extended hospital visits to be treated fairly, and car parking policies should not discriminate against them.
“NHS organisations must make the best use of public funds, and this includes setting car parking charges at a rate which is reasonable for the communities they serve and provides appropriate concessions.
“These figures illustrate the fact that three-quarters of hospitals have reduced their charges or left them unchanged.
“While parking charges are a local issue, this shows that NHS organisations across the country are working hard to respond to the feelings of their local communities.
“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 £100m – money that would otherwise be spent on patient care.”