Medical Malpractice - Welsh Hospitals to get free parking?

Welsh Hospitals to get free parking?

BBC Breakfast News this morning: Welsh people were complaining about the £2 for three hours they pay and were very pleased Wales plans to introduce free parking at all hospitals at a cost of around £5million. Wow! At my local hospital the cost is £2.50 per hour (!) and England have no such intentions about making patient parking easier or cheaper! How much is it to park at your local hospital and do you think it should be free or even a bit cheaper? Dave I think it does go back into each hospital so who is making up the difference for the Welsh then? Skidoo, I asked my midwife about this - her advice? "have your baby at night, parking is discounted over night!" I used to go to a hospital where you could not access the car park without showing an outpatient letter - much better idea

Public Comments

I remember having to go to hospital for a period of time (not for me, for a friend) and thinking the parking was well expensive. As long as it get ploughed back into the system, Im not too fussed.
it should be free for everyone we pay enough taxes, i live in wales and we get free prescriptions too, sorry salt in the wound and all that!!
£2.50 an hour at my local hospital too...criminal! However when I was a teenager and in hospital for six weeks my parents could buy a weekly pass for £20 a week. I think it is far too expensive - extra tax on the sick and vulnerable!!! Driving a car is a privilege and car parks take up space, so i think a small charge is fair enough - but because hospital car parks are so heavily used only small charges should be made to make a profit! Say most people visit for an hour, say £1 minimum charge for an hour then £0.75 for each additional hour? Its still expensive enough but not as bad! The Welsh nursing staff are lucky. Staff here get paid pittance then have to fork out for parking!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/7273649.stm As a student nurse i am not classed as staff at my hospital so would have to pay £4 for 12 hours parking, but I sweet talked security into letting me park for free ;) The staff pay about a tenner a month, it comes out of their wages. It should be free for everyone.
I think anyone attending an appointment or visiting A&E, or accompanying a person attending an appointment ought to get free parking at the hospital. I was shocked that we had to pay parking for my partner to be with me for the birth of our child!! I mean! What's worse is that you often end up paying for several hours parking after arriving on time for an appointment and being kept waiting. I remember arriving early for a 9 o'clock appt to beat the traffic and being told at 10 o'clock that the consultant had just arrived and I was second in the queue! What?? Meanwhile the car is sat in the car park collecting charges.
hospital parking shoud be free everywere why shoud sick people have to find money to go to hospital its disgracful
I think it should be free or at least very cheap. Let's face it nobody wants to be at a hospital weather your a patient or a visitor you should not be penalised for being ill or for caring about someone who's ill. I live in Wales and have been to hospital many times as an outpatient. In the past I have sometimes had lifts and sometimes been on the bus. The bus takes ages and it's difficult to get there at the right time. Getting a lift is great but costly when you have to add the parking fee on to the petrol. Parking fee varies on how long your there for but it's always costly. I'm glad it's going to become free in Wales but I agree it should be free everywhere.
why just the welsh, i thought we had a NATIONAL health service
It's always been free at my local hospital
It will be the same in Scotland as well as the end of council tax.
This is a bit unfair, we might know English hospital car parks have no plans to change their charge - how typical the English get penalised for everything and have to subsidise both the Scottish and now Welsh Health Service.
Good for the Welsh! Charging for parking at a hospital is just another example of the crass inefficiency of the NHS. No doubt they have a whole section of "senior managers" dedicated to the parking issue - now they can be sacked!! Let's hope that England learns from the Welsh in this instance.
the parking should be free for all, but people should have to provide bone fide evidence of their need to park at the hospital /appointment letter, details of person being visited on wards etc our local hospital is on the edge of the town centre, people can park there for the day cheaper than the towns public car parks, consequently genuine hospital visitors/staff frequently cannot park there
Parking at hospitals should be free ... The hospitals are grabbing money from the vunerable and it is an outrage . Last year i ended up going to an out patient appointment and ended up as an in patient for seven days . The cost was huge .. my husband went through the roof . At our local hospital the staff even have to pay. although they do get a reduced rate. We have a cancer unit also and it infuriates me that these people should have to pay
Good for them, What about Free Parking in English Hospitals?
Glad to hear the Welsh Assembly Government do listen to us now and again!!