Hospital Car Parking Charges

Debate between Karen Lumley and Jackie Doyle-Price

Monday 1st September 2014 Commons Chamber

[Jackie Doyle-Price]

My hon. Friend highlights exactly the kind of initiative that we in this House would expect the local management of trusts to undertake. On having a fair charging policy, we should not have simple flat fees and expect all patients and visitors to pay them. We should be thinking about the best possible opportunities to enable patients to get better when they are being visited by their families and to access treatment without being worried about parking charges.

[Karen Lumley (Redditch) (Con)]

Does my hon. Friend agree that NHS managers could learn from private providers, which in my constituency of Redditch provide two hours’ parking for £1.20, whereas my local hospital trust charges £3?

[Jackie Doyle-Price]

My hon. Friend has put a very important point on the record. It illustrates again that when management thinks about patients rather than managing the accounts, it can come up with solutions that are good for the patient.

We have all had many representations from individual patients about the costs they have incurred personally. We have also heard from pressure groups. In particular, Macmillan has highlighted that cancer sufferers have found parking charges to be a very costly element of their treatment, adding significantly to the financial strain for people who are going through prolonged periods of treatment. As I have said, some of them are losing considerable amounts of earnings during that process. We need to be making it easier for them to get better and overcome their debilitating illness.