Hospital parking fees 'prey on vulnerable'

Daily Mail
10:20am 28th March 2006

A cancer charity chief has called for a ban on hospital parking fees saying they shamefully prey on sick and vulnerable patients.
It comes as figures reveal hospital patients are being charged up to £1.5million a year for parking. Department of Health figures show that 12 hospital trusts raised more than £1million in charges.
Chief executive of Macmillan Cancer Relief, Peter Cardy has condemned the fees.
"Raising revenue by forcing cancer patients to pay for hospital car parking is morally wrong," he said.
"It is shameful that the sickest and most vulnerable people have to pay the most. Hospital car parking costs are often the final straw in a long line of extra costs faced by cancer patients."
The figures suggest that one trust, University Hospital Birmingham, raised £1.5million from the fees in 2004-05.
A University Hospital trust spokeswoman has defended the high revenue saying the funds were used the maintain the car park, run a shuttle bus service and subsidise patient care.
Other hospitals to break through the £1million barrier included the Cambridge University NHS Foundation Trust, Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust and Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust.
The statistics were obtained by the BBC under the Freedom of Information Act.

Here's what readers have had to say so far.

This is a scandal that should be rectified immediately. It's difficult enough having to visit anyone in hospital, especially if they have cancer, without it also being a financial burden.Patients have little enough pleasure, without their visitors being unable to come as often because of the cost of parking.- Maria Connelly, Lanarkshire, Scotland