PARKING charges at our hospitals are set to be scrapped within two years if a bill which was originally proposed by Fra McCann and subsequently taken up by Aisling Reilly, completes its final stage at Stormont on Thursday.
The bill which aims to remove parking charges for staff, contractors, visitors and patients of our hospitals was due to be implemented within six months but following an amendment proposed by Health Minister Robin Swann, it was agreed that the implementation time would be extended to two years to allow Health Trusts to develop alternative arrangements to manage and control spaces in hospital car parks.
In 2018-19, hospital car parks in the North generated £7.5 million from charges, but the cost of operating the car parks was £8.8 million, leaving the Health and Social Care Trusts to make up the £1.3 million deficit.
There had also been concerns that free parking within our hospitals would lead to people parking there and going elsewhere to avoid paying for parking which would result in less spaces available for staff, patients and visitors.
Addressing the Assembly chamber on Monday, Aisling Reilly MLA said: “The Bill is about abolishing hospital car parking charges for Health and Social Care workers, patients and their families. Parking charges have for too long been an unfair tax on front-line health workers, who have been holding our health service together.
CHARGES SCRAPPED: Parking charges at our hospitals are set to be scrapped within two years
“Patients should not be penalised for their ill-health when accessing vital hospital services, and this Bill will put money back into patients' and workers' pockets.
Ms Reilly said that at a time when the cost of living is ever-increasing and our health workers are under ever-increasing pressure, the Bill can and will make a real difference.
“It will remove that unfair additional tax on health and social care workers and any additional financial burden placed on workers, patients and their families whilst accessing hospital services as a result of incurring hospital parking charges,” she continued.
“The ethos of the National Health Service is that healthcare is free at the point of delivery, based on need and not on the ability to pay, yet, at the very first point of access, staff, patients and their loved ones are faced with a financial barrier.
“I am pleased to hear that the Minister supports the intent of the Bill. I have worked closely with his Department over the past number of weeks and months, and I thank him and his officials for the continuous open door and open dialogue throughout the process.
“I also thank the Health Committee for its scrutiny of and work on the Bill over the past number of months. We are legislators, and we want to make legislation that impacts on people's lives for the better. That is exactly what this Bill is intended to do.”
