Patients paying price of soaring parking fees
Hospital parking charges have been labelled a "tax on the sick". DANIEL WAINWRIGHT and LAURA BLYTH report
It is the last thing someone wants to think about when they are sick.
Parking charges at hospitals across the region have soared in recent years, with one having just doubled the fee to leave the car for an hour.
New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton increased its fees by 50 per cent in March but introduced a new one hour rate at the cost of £1.
Now that has doubled and free parking for disabled people has also been axed.
Car parks at the new £545 million Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham charge £2.60 for up to an hour.
At Russells Hall Hospital in Dudley, patients are charged £1.30 to park there for up to an hour.
Car park users at Sandwell General have to pay £2.10 and at Stafford and Cannock Chase hospitals it is £2. Walsall Manor costs £2.
Charges are broadly similar across the region but the cost really mounts up when people need to leave the car all day.
It costs around £5 or £6 at most hospitals for 24 hours but at the QE in Birmingham the fee for more than 12 hours is £12.90.
Patients can get a weekly ticket for £18 but for people who need to go in for regular treatment that can be very expensive.
Wolverhampton councillor and former city mayor Malcolm Gwinnett underwent a heart transplant at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham in January.
The 59-year-old, of Coalport Road, East Park, said: "It's costing me a fortune in Birmingham. If people have to go three or four times a week to a hospital anywhere then it's costing them a lot of money."
Hospitals say they do not have a choice. Faced with limited space and funding cuts, they say the charges are here to stay.
David Loughton, chief executive of New Cross Hospital today said he is faced with cutting £15m from his budget. That means hard choices – and he makes it clear his priority will always be with patient care.
He said increased parking charges and new charges for the disabled will help fund improvements in medical care.
But MPs from both Labour and the Conservatives are aware just how unpopular car parking charges are with the public.
They today called for hospital chief executives like Mr Loughton to reconsider.
Gavin Williamson, Tory MP for South Staffordshire, said "There are no direct bus services to New Cross from South Staffordshire. While I understand New Cross has to charge for parking, a 100 per cent increase on the hourly rate is grossly disproportionate and unfair. I will be writing to the chief executive to voice my concerns."
Paul Uppal, MP for Wolverhampton South West, said: "Hospital parking charges should be set at a reasonable and fair level. I will raise this with my colleagues and see if I can get some discussion on it."
Cannock Chase MP Aidan Burley added: "You shouldn't have to pay to be ill. If you're visiting a relative who is in hospital for a long time, these parking charges can get very expensive."
Valerie Vaz, Labour MP for Walsall South, said those with chronic conditions like renal failure were particularly badly hit because they need regular treatment. She called for hospitals to bring in systems that ensured patients and visitors only paid for the time they park.
Chris Kelly, Tory MP for Dudley South, added: "I despise NHS hospital parking charges and wish that they could be abolished at Russells Hall. But the taxpayer will pay if patients don't. If you want a contractor to build a car park, someone has to pay."
Dr Paul Hodgkin, of NHS feedback website Patient Opinion, today said New Cross had until now been known for its reasonable car parking charges.
He said: "Expensive car parks are often a problem for patients at other hospitals, so it is likely that New Cross will attract more criticism as a result of this move."
