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Call to scrap 'sick' charges at hospitals

Parking charges at hospitals have been labelled “sick” by one of the country’s leading car breakdown services.

Autonational Rescue have backed a report by the Commons Health Select Committee condemning a whole range of charges – including those for hospital parking – as greedy, outdated and unfair.

Among the recommendations are that parking charges which amounted to £78 million last year, should be scaled down or even eliminated for patients forced to make daily trips for treatment.

Twelve of the National Health Trusts each raised more than £1 million in the twelve months between 2004 and 2005, while the average revenue for the country’s 145 Trusts was £400,000.

Said Autonational’s marketing manager Ronan Hart: “In some parts of the UK visitors to hospitals are paying up to £55 for 24 hours parking, a case, if ever there was one, of exploitation of not just the motorist, but vulnerable ones at that.”

He backed the Commons Committee’s recent recommendation that called for the scrapping of car park charges for those who need to visit hospitals for daily treatment and a ‘season ticket’ for frequent visitors.

“Motorists more than pay their way today in taxation, fuel charges and the like,” he added, “and hospital parking fees is an area where the financial burden that comes with being a motorist, especially in this case as a hospital visitor, could and should be reduced.”

Ends

For more information about Autonational Rescue, the car breakdown service with the no claims bonus, call 07000 999 911

Issued by CPR Works
Tel: 01902 680068
Contact: Jenny Carr/Roger Eversley
E-mail:jenny@cpr.co.uk
Web: www.cpr.co.uk

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