NHS seeks your opinion on hospital car park charges

UK Health Secretary Andy Burnham has launched a consultation into NHS hospital car parking changes.

The consultation will consider a number of options, such as:

• Giving all inpatients free hospital car parking for their visitors, or only after a long stay
• Giving 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.

According to the Department of Health, changes could make the service fairer and more cost-effective, freeing up resources to be re-invested in primary health care.

The Health Secretary commented: "'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. "

The consultation will be open until 23rd February 2010 and views are sought from the public, patients, the NHS and stakeholders.

Have your say

If you feel strongly about this issue, then you should make your voice heard. Detailed information on the consultation is available here - there is a form that you can download to make your point.

This article was published on Wed 30 December 2009