Car parking charges at NHS hospitals in Scotland are to be abolished, the Health Secretary announced yesterday.
Car parking charges at NHS hospitals in Scotland are to be abolished, the Health Secretary announced yesterday.
After a review of charging policies, and an interim cap of £3 per day, Nicola Sturgeon revealed charges at the 14 hospitals which charge will be scrapped.
Only three PFI-funded car parks will still be allowed to charge, while staff, patients and visitors will be able to park free at all other sites from December 31.
The announcement follows a campaign by staff and patients' groups against the charging, which prompted Ms Sturgeon to order a review of the policies across Scotland earlier this year. Politicians, unions and campaign groups welcomed the decision, but calls are growing for charges at the three remaining hospitals to be removed.
Car parks at Glasgow Royal Infirmary, the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh and Ninewells Hospital in Dundee, which are all PFI-funded parks, will still be subject to charging, while Ms Sturgeon said she expected boards to reduce the PFI car park charges.
Charges will be lifted at Gartnavel hospitals, the Southern General, Stobhilll, Victoria Infirmary, Western Infirmary and Yorkhill Hospital in Glasgow.
They will also be abolished at Lauriston Building, the Royal Hospital for Sick Children and the Western General in Edinburgh and at St John's Hospital, Livingston, Perth Royal Infirmary, Raigmore Hospital, Inverness, Aberdeen Royal Infirmary and Dr Gray's Hospital in Elgin.
Ms Sturgeon said: "I am determined that the founding principles of our health service remain intact.
"Chief among these is that the NHS should be free at the point of delivery and it is my firm belief that this should apply whether one comes to hospital as a patient, visitor or a member of staff.
"It's simply not fair to expect patients or visitors to have to pay when they come to hospital, when they may be suffering personal anxiety, stress or grief.
"Put bluntly, a car parking charge is often the last thing people need.
"I also expect those NHS boards with car parks operated under PFI contracts to work as hard as they can to minimise this inconvenience to visitors by limiting or reducing their charges."
In total, the four affected health boards will lose more than £5m a year from the charges, but will only be compensated for three months.
The boards will share £1.4m for the lost cash between January and March next year.
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said it would begin implementing the changes, but would not comment on the loss of income.
The Royal College of Nursing said the move was "long overdue" while Unison said it did not go far enough and left a two tier system, a view echoed by the Royal College of Midwives.
Glasgow and Clyde branch secretary Cathy Miller said: "No- one agreed with this additional tax on staff, patients and visitors.
"But we are angry that the minister seems unwilling to be bold enough to remove charges from PPP/PFI sites."
