Hospitals ordered to give the seriously ill parking concessions

Hospitals must offer free or cut-price parking to the seriously ill, the Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt will say today.

Meanwhile cowboy parking operators can no longer be allowed to impose huge fines for minor infringements.

"Patients and families shouldn’t have to deal with the added stress of unfair parking charges," Mr Hunt will say.

"These clear ground rules set out our expectations, and will help the public hold the NHS to account for unfair charges or practices."

The guidance to health trusts makes clear they will be responsible for the actions of the private firms that run hospital car parks.

The guidance is in full below:

NHS organisations should work with their patients and staff, local authorities and public transport providers to make sure that users can get to the site (and park if necessary) as safely, conveniently and economically as possible.1

Charges should be reasonable for the area.

Concessions, including free or reduced charges or caps, should be available for the following groups:

people with disabilities2
frequent outpatient attenders
visitors with relatives who are gravely ill
visitors to relatives who have an extended stay in hospital
staff working shifts that mean public transport cannot be used
Other concessions, eg for volunteers or staff who car-share, should be considered locally.

Priority for staff parking should be based on need, eg staff whose daily duties require them to travel by car.3

Trusts should consider installing ‘pay on exit’ or similar schemes so that drivers pay only for the time that they have used. Fines should only be imposed where reasonable4 and should be waived when overstaying is beyond the driver’s control (eg when treatment takes longer than planned, or when staff are required to work beyond their scheduled shift).

Details of charges, concessions and penalties should be well publicised including at car park entrances, wherever payment is made and inside the hospital. They should also be included on the hospital website and on patient letters and forms, where appropriate.

NHS trusts should publish:

their parking policy
their implementation of the NHS car parking principles
financial information relating to their car parking
summarised complaint information on car parking and actions taken in response.
Contracted-out car parking
NHS organisations are responsible for the actions of private contractors who run car parks on their behalf.

NHS organisations should act against rogue contractors in line with the relevant codes of practice5 where applicable.

Contracts should not be let on any basis that incentivises fines, eg ‘income from penalties only’.

Each site is different and very few will be able to provide spaces for everyone who needs one. Since 2010, national planning policy no longer imposes maximum parking standards on development, and no longer recommends the use of car parking charges as a demand management measure to discourage car use. ↩

Consideration should be given to the needs of people with temporary disabilities as well as Blue Badge holders. ↩

Such staff might include nurses or therapists who visit patients at home. Routine travel between hospital sites might more sensibly be managed by providing internal transport. ↩

‘Reasonable’ fining practice might include fines for people who do not have legitimate reasons for parking (eg commuters), or who persistently flout parking regulations (eg blocking entrances). A period of grace should normally be applied before a fine is issued. ↩

There are two trade associations – the British Parking Association and the Independent Parking Committee. If the car park operator is a member of either, their relevant code applies and an appeals service is available to motorists. NHS organisations should consider imposing a requirement for contractors to be members of such an association. ↩