Parking
Should NHS budgets be spent on parking? Should patients using NHS services be charged for parking? It is the topic that refuses to drive away. Glenn Dives of the British Parking Association explores the current situation
of money that
the costs of maintenance be paid from? Those maintenance costs in the form of surface repairs, painted lines and grass verges would have to come directly from healthcare budgets, either centrally funded or from the operating budget of the local NHS trust. This is unfortunately the reality of the situation - if those sites are not maintained then they can become dangerous. But funding NHS car parks like this is likely to become a contentious issue and is the first reason why we feel free parking at hospitals doesn’t protect the most vulnerable in our society. This issue is not limited to the existing parking infrastructure of hospitals, it is an ongoing one that could have significant effects on the behaviour of administrators for years to come. This was evidenced when the Bill was proposed in the House of Commons. James Duddridge, Conservative MP for Rockford and Southend East, highlighted his concern that capital expenditure will not be found to provide more parking spaces. He believed that future capital expenditure on car parks would be limited, because there would be no revenues associated from the expenditure. E
Issue 19.2 | HEALTH BUSINESS MAGAZINE
Written by British Parking Association
There is always a great deal of comment Is anything free? about parking in hospitals. Parking facilities I’m sure everyone is familiar with the saying at hospitals are usually oversubscribed with ‘there’s no such thing as a free lunch’. demand often outstripping supply, and, for this Everything built or maintained by people reason, parking facilities and transport links has a cost associated with it and that goes need to be effectively managed to provide a for parking. There is no such thing as a free better experience for all, whether they are a parking space – somebody, somewhere is patient, visitor or employee. In some cases, paying for it. This is true everywhere: in town this has led to hospitals charging for parking, centres, at the beach, in the countryside and resulting in political and media attention at the hospital. While some NHS car parks and calling for the abolishing of all charges. Such car parks in general may be free at the point of calls resulted in a new Bill which begun its use the upkeep and maintenance is provided progress through the House of Commons from somewhere else. If it is being patrolled in November 2017, sponsored by Robert to keep users safe, then someone is paying Halfon, the Conservative MP for Harlow. The for that too. These operating costs will not Bill sought to ban the charging for disappear if the charges at point of use parking spaces in England’s NHS are abolished. The question of how hospitals and, while it was and ultimately who is funding well intentioned, it failed to this service remains. Not on address several practical Hospital parking is no of the m e issues concerning the exception to this rule. a n y cries fo provision of parking. If hospital parking r f u rther NHS fu Indeed, it may be was not charged for n a case where the at the point of use, as parkingding desires t proposed cure may be proposed by Halfon’s o b e the recipien worse than the disease. Bill, then where would t
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