Hospital car park charges are scrapped – but not at PFI sites

PARKING charges are to be scrapped at NHS sites across Scotland, apart from three hospitals with contracts with private companies, it was announced yesterday.

The decision not to axe charges at the hospitals with PFI contracts, because of the high costs involved in terminating the deals, was met with anger.

But Nicola Sturgeon, the health secretary, said NHS boards should work with the private companies involved to keep the costs as low as possible for patients.

The scrapping of payments at the 14 hospitals that still charge for parking in Scotland comes after a £3 cap was introduced in January.

Ending the charges will cost health boards about £5.5 million a year. Boards will be given one-off funding of £1.4 million to help cope with the loss of income.

The Scottish Government said money raised from car parking was not used to fund patient care and would not affect treatment budgets.

In its election manifesto, the SNP pledged to issue new guidance to health boards to reduce excessive charges for parking at NHS sites.

Yesterday, Ms Sturgeon said the NHS should be free at the point of need, and that this should apply to hospital patients, visitors and 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," she said.

The health boards have been asked to form plans to address problems such as increase in demand after charges are axed at the end of the year.

The announcement will not apply to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary (ERI), whose car park is run by Consort Healthcare, Glasgow Royal Infirmary, where Impregilo has the PFI parking deal, and Ninewells in Dundee, with parking run by Vinci Park.

The Scottish Government said the nature of the PFI parking contracts, which in the case of the ERI do not expire until 2028, meant the costs of axing charges there would be prohibitive.

Ms Sturgeon said NHS boards were expected to work with the PFI providers to limit or reduce their charges.

The SNP government has been highly critical of PFI deals brought in under the previous Labour-Liberal Democrat administration.

But yesterday, it was accused of "playing politics" by not scrapping charges at the PFI sites.

Nigel Griffiths, the Labour MP for South Edinburgh, said the decision was "disgraceful".

"I think the SNP are using PFI as an excuse to avoid abolishing all charges in Scotland because they don't have the cash.

"It is political spite. They are playing politics with patients' wellbeing."

Campaigners and staff groups welcomed the scrapping of charges at the 14 hospitals, but expressed anger that the others were not included.

Cathy Miller, Unison Glasgow and Clyde branch secretary, said: "This decision will create a two-tier system, with staff and patients who are unlucky enough to be on a PFI site being charged for the pleasure."

Blue badge law may cost £20m

A NEW law that aims to end the abuse of disabled parking bays in Scotland could end up costing councils £20 million and become little more than an "expensive paper chase," MSPs warned yesterday.

Members of Holyrood's local government committee were taking evidence on Labour MSP Jackie Baillie's bill, which could see able-bodied drivers who park in disabled bays fined up to £60.

The bill would force councils to clamp down on drivers without blue badges using the bays, and end advisory disabled parking bays, making all of them mandatory.

It is estimated that one in five parking spaces for the disabled in Scotland is used by people without blue badges.

However, because most parking legislation is still reserved to Westminster, private car parks would not fall under the legislation.

David McLetchie, a Conservative MSP and committee member, said: "I'm not sure if this bill will prove to be anything more than an expensive paper chase and simply add £20 million to local authority budgets."

Edinburgh City Council says the estimated £1.7 million national cost could be exceeded in the capital alone.