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We'll scrap hospital car parking charges says Burnham
Nicholas Cecil, Chief Political Correspondent30.09.09
Hospital car parking charges will be axed for people visiting inpatients, Andy Burnham announced today.
The Health Secretary promised to bring in a parking permit scheme for hospitals over the next three years to be funded through back-office cuts.
"When people are coming in to hospital, the last thing they want to worry about is keeping the car parking ticket up-to-date," Mr Burnham told Labour's annual rally in Brighton.
"For families of the sickest patients, the costs can really rack up. It's not right if some people don't get visitors every day because families can't afford the parking fees. We all know that having friends and family around helps patients get better." Some hospitals charge up to £12 a day to park and the revenue across the country from parking is more than £100million a year.
To the delight of delegates, Mr Burnham said: "We can't do it overnight. But, over the next three years, as we can afford it, I want to phase out car parking charges for inpatients, giving each a permit for the length of their stay."
The move follows the scrapping of hospital parking charges in Scotland and Wales.
Meanwhile, the Health Secretary warned Labour activists that huge savings will be needed in the NHS.
He said that efficiency and productivity savings of between £15 billion and £20 billion over four years would have to be made to channel funds into frontline services.
Admitting that the savings were a “big ask”, he told Labour's conference in Brighton: “Let's be clear, the era of large catch-up funding growth is over.
“Taxpayers have well funded the NHS and now rightly expect more for their money. That's why we need an unprecedented productivity and efficiency drive — saving £15 to £20 billion over the next four years, the money we need for new NHS priorities.”
Mr Burnham's tough words will raise fears of job cuts as the savings are sought in the NHS budget, currently £102 billion a year.
However, Mr Burnham promised to consult with unions and staff and not to impose “top down solutions” on implementing the savings: “If it's to be done with care, we need to give the service time to plan.
“A great NHS will see things always through the eyes of its patients and that's why our reform journey must accelerate.”
Children's Secretary Ed Balls has already announced plans for £2 billion of education savings, partly by cutting the number of deputy heads and back-office functions. But shadow chancellor George Osborne has seized on the proposed savings to claim the Tories have “won the argument” on public spending cuts.
He said Gordon Brown now had a “total credibility gap” on public sector efficiencies. However, Mr Burnham rejected David Cameron's claim that the Tories are the party of the NHS, saying: “Your sales-speak doesn't ring true to me, David.”
He also emphasised that Labour could “do better” for people in their old age. The Prime Minister announced yesterday that about 350,000 people with the “highest needs” would get free personal care to keep them in their own homes. In a green paper this summer, Mr Burnham unveiled several possible reforms including the state meeting a share of care bills. He suggested an insurance system, or a charge of up to £20,000 for people who retire to join a state scheme guaranteeing free care.
People on low incomes would not have to pay but this has sparked fears that wealthier individuals could have to pay a bigger contribution.
The Health Secretary also highlighted a push for early diagnosis of cancer, with GPs getting direct access to ultrasound and MRI scans.
People will also be able to choose which GP to register with.
Reader views (7)
Labour screams that it will ban this,ban that, ban the other.
WHEN LABOUR MP's WHO FIDDLED THEIR EXPENSES ARE ARRESTED, PHOTOGRAPHED, FINGERPRINTED, DNA'd, CHARGED AND PUT IN A COURT OF LAW THEN JOE PUBLIC MIGHT JUST START TO BELIEVE ANYTHING THAT NULIEBOUR SPOUTS.
- Reuben Camara, Morecambe Compound, EUSSR
Two reactions:
1) You've only had ten years to tackle this, if it was such an injustice;
2) Will there be free bus fares for people who don't want to clutter up a hospital with their car? Most of the big inner-city hospitals have no car parking in any case
- Mdj E10, london uk
The less savoury side of politics - attempted buying of votes by latching onto the latest shock horror item, then promising, full of righteous passion, to fix it. As problems seldom arise on the spur of the moment, then the problems encountered, in the ideal world politicians all promise the voters, would have their genesis in prior problems which should have been fixed when THEY arose, surely. Can't foresee all that might arise when planning ahead? Doesn't that argue AGAINST making sweeping changes until such time as they have been thoroughly reviewed for cause and effect issues?
Politicians have come to understand that it is the promises that get them elected. Failure to produce can be blamed on other factors and they can usually get away with this, especially when new problems inevitably come along to occupy voter's collective attention.
It would be nice if some department (yes, a positive minded quango even) were set up to monitor promises and resulting resolutions (or otherwise). My guess is that a book or periodical publishing would be a best seller - probably paying for itself unlike other quangos.
- Rogan, Irving
What a muppet. It is OUTPATIENTS who should not have to pay car parking fees. The majority of inpatients are dropped off at the hospital by relatives and do not (nor could they afford to) park their cars in the hospital car parks, but outpatients have to attend consultants' clinics, diagnostic clinics etc - often requiring to attend several follow-up clinics. These are the people who should have free car parking. The hospital trusts are making millions of pounds profits at the expense of our most vulnerable i.e. the sick and injured and no-one has the moral fibre to stop them.
- R.F.York, Yorks, UK
Typical Labour U-turn. Introduce a universally unpopular policy and then expect a pat on the back when it is withdrawn.
- Nobby Clark, Perth, the Scottish one
Hold on, weren't hospital car parking charges were introduced under the Bliar government?
- Dannyp, Egham
My God, you can tell there's an election coming can't you.
- P Staker, Londonistan.
