The Weekend Read: Hexham Hospital Car Parking -good news as the NHS Trust change their policy and halve the cost

Parking charges will be reduced by half at Hexham General Hospital from next week. This is extremely welcome news that we have been able to find this compromise with the NHS Trust.

I have long campaigned for a reduction in car parking charges and Hexham being the pilot for the halving of the daily parking rate is a fantastic step in the right direction. Over many years we have campaigned for reduction in parking charges in Hexham and when the town went free I then called on the Trust to reduce their parking charges; and I am pleased they have listened.

Visiting friends and family in hospital can be a deeply worrying time. The last thing people need at such times is to worry about parking. Northumbria NHS Trust is an outstanding Trust with exemplary staff and quality service, and this change in parking policy is one I very much welcome. I hope they also consider their approach to parking charges to their staff as part of this review.

The details of the change are that:

- The new pilot scheme will see the maximum daily charge for parking reduce from £4 to £2. In addition, patients and visitors paying to park for an hour (£1.20) or a day (£2) will receive a free regular hot drink available at either the hospital’s café or restaurant.

- For patients and visitors to claim this, the trust is introducing a split ticket – where one part is left in the vehicle and the other part detached to present in the café/restaurant.
- The daily charge will apply for 24 hours from the time of payment so someone visiting in the evening will also be covered should they need to return the next day. 
- Patients and visitors who only need to stay for short periods can still make use of the free 20-minute period in place to assist pick-ups and drop-offs.
- Payment machines and signage are to be changed for the new system, which comes into effect on Monday 1 December.

The Weekend Read: Hexham Hospital Car Parking Charges debated in Parliament

The full debate, and my speech, is here: http://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=2014-09-01a.67.0&s=speaker%3A24962#g85.0
I believe the Northumbria NHS Trust are wrong not to reduce, or take away entirely, the car parking charges that are required of both patients and NHS staff.

The previous argument that this was required otherwise locals and tourists would use the Hospital car park if it was free, I entirely supported. However, the town centre is now free: the debate is well argued with several very interesting ideas and suggestions. In my speech I went out of my way to make it clear that I have nothing but respect for the managers at the NHS Trust. They, like the NHS staff are doing a great job. But the managers are in the wrong on this issue. Patients, their families who attend them, and the staff themselves, who are effectively having to pay to park close to their place of work deserve a better deal.

The Weekend Read: why does Hexham Hospital charge for parking now we have free parking in Hexham?

I have probably spent more time in hospital than any other MP - by reason of jockey injuries or more recent mishaps in 2011. My grandmother was an NHS Matron and I can genuinely say that I have had my life saved twice by the NHS.

When you are a visitor or a patient in hospital, you are at your most distressed, emotional and concerned. The last thing people need in such times are the worry of how long they’ve got left on the parking meter.
For many years we have fought for free parking in the town of Hexham. This last year we have had success, and parking is free in Hexham now.

Yet the Hospital are continuing to charge for parking. I met with Health bosses and their answer was evasive; they promised to get back to me. They have not done so despite several prompts.

Around a quarter of hospitals in England do not charge for parking at all, and car parking fees have been abolished in Scotland and Wales. The reality is trhat local people are now parking in the town car parking spaces rather than using the hospital car park and paying. So the Trust is running a loss making service. The trust still refuse to change.

I beleive the best approach for the trust is to say that where parking is paid for in a town and free in a Hospital they have to guard against people abusing a situation to park free in Hexham by using the Hexham Hospital car park. Now bizarrely, Hexham Hospital is charging - and the rest of the town is free. This cannot continue.

There are a huge number of emotional and practical benefits that parking brings to patients. For many patients, driving is the only option. As Macmillan point out, “public transport and hospital transport are often neither adequate nor suitable for cancer patients”. Equally, patients who live in rural areas or have to come to hospital at unconventional hours barely have a choice. In the last National Patient Choice Survey, 46 per cent of patients rated car parking as one of the factors in choosing a hospitals.
Patients should have the peace of mind to be able to focus solely on getting the best care available.

Of all those whom our taxes go to help, none are more vulnerable or more guiltless than those whom the NHS serves. Hexham Hospital need to do the right thing - with free hospital parking helping those most in need; we ought to protect these most vulnerable and unfortunate, and provide a service that is equal and fair for all, and to make it as easy as possible for families to be together in their time of need. The Trust are good people but on the wrong side of our argument on this one.