Shropshire Star comment: Parking charges problem
The decision by some local hospitals to more than double their car park charges will outrage many.
Few will believe hospital administrators can justify such moves when the effects of austerity are still being felt. Many will believe it is simply profiteering.
As is often the case, however, there are two sides to this story and the charges must been in the context of the plight facing local hospital administrators, whose budgets are insufficient to keep pace with demand.
And yet it does not seem right that those attending hospital or visiting the sick and vulnerable should have to fork out for parking. Let us also spare a thought for the staff faced with paying up too.
Parking charges have ever been a thorny issue. While some might have an empathetic view towards hospitals meeting the cost of car park maintenance through modest charges, administrators ought to go no further. In Wales, parking charges have been abolished at hospitals and in Scotland, many are free.
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It is not only the cost that is the issue either – for some people, particularly the elderly and vulnerable, the process of paying can be stressful. Payment machines are seldom easy to operate, particularly for those who find new technology problematic, and the system adds up to an entirely unsatisfactory experience.
Lest we forget, keeping hospital appointments and welcoming visitors is a way of keeping the nation healthy. That in turn leads to a lower burden on our NHS; people seeking to prevent illnesses and get well soon, or patients benefiting from a greater sense of wellbeing following a visit benefits local hospitals. And yet day patients and visitors are penalised for doing the right thing.
It seems clear that the issue needs to be reviewed and proper guidance given. If the income lost impacts on health services then provision must be made to compensate those trusts that lose out.
While some hospitals seek to defend their right to generate revenues, the dramatic hikes seen at some hospitals are surely unjustified. We already pay for our NHS through a raft of taxes on our income, our purchases, property acquisition and, of course, death.
Put simply, car park charges cannot be the answer to the financial pressures on hospitals.
