Nicola Sturgeon Cabinet Secretary
for Health and Wellbeing has finally stopped the unfair car park charges in Scotland’s NHS hospitals after an announcement
She said, “In this 60th
anniversary year of NHS Scotland, I am determined that the founding principles
of our health service remain intact.”
Since January 2008 an interim
cap of three pounds per vehicle was introduced. The new plans will be
introduced at the end of this year on 31st December, and will cover 14
hospitals, but three hospitals, which are run under the PFI contracts, will
still remain.
Ms Sturgeon stated that the
long term nature of the PFI contract meant that scrapping the charges would be
prohibitively expensive and added that these hospitals should limit and reduce
the charges until the contract comes to an end.
The charges will be scrapped
at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary; Dr Gray's Hospital in Elgin; Gartnavel, the
Southern General, Stobhill, Yorkhill, the Victoria and Western Infirmaries in
Glasgow; Raigmore in Inverness; the Western General and Royal Hospital for Sick
Children in Edinburgh; St John's in Livingston; and Perth Royal Infirmary.
While at Edinburgh and
Glasgow Royal Infirmaries and Ninewells in Dundee
the charges will remain.
The scrapping of charges will
cost health boards across the Scotland 5.5million pounds per annum in lost revenue, however
the Scottish Government will provide 1.4million pounds of funding for this
financial year and then it will end.
The move to abolish the
charges has been welcomed by all the different parties, unions and campaigning
bodies but also they criticised the government for creating a two tier system
by not removing the charges at the three PFI hospitals.
The Royal College of Nursing
Scotland has been running a campaign to end the charges and welcomed the
overdue move.
Andy Patrick, board member
said, “The RCN Scotland has run a losing running campaign against charges and
we are pleased on behalf of our members, patients and their relatives that the
Scottish Government has now decided to take this action.”
When people are visiting
hospitals whether as patients, or to visit someone then the last thing that
they need to add to their worries is having to pay for parking.
» 1 Comment
1"James" at Friday, 21 November 2008 14:54by David
I think this is most unfair. If I have to go to hospital I travel by bus. Will Nicola Sturgeon be paying my bus fair? If not, why not? Why should users of public transport, who are in fact helping the environment, have to subsidise car users. This is so ridiculous - it now is cheaper to travel by car to hospital than to use the bus!
Nicola Sturgeon Cabinet Secretary
for Health and Wellbeing has finally stopped the unfair car park charges in Scotland’s NHS hospitals after an announcement
