To charge or not to charge?

In a previous article I discussed the issues surrounding hospital parking and the debate, which still continues, on whether it should be free or regulated. Times have not moved forward too much – some motorists still believe that charging for parking at our hospitals is an unscrupulous way to make money and an added pressure for those going to the hospital.
    
Our members continue to work closely with hospital trusts around the country, working with them on enforcement and management of their parking facilities. In fact, we recently welcomed Northern Lincolnshire and Goole Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust as our 4,000th member of the Safer Parking Scheme, demonstrating the desire for car park providers to deliver higher standards to their users.

Keep control
Perhaps we could move away from the misconception that parking enforcement is a money making exercise for the NHS Trusts and look a little deeper into why some form of parking control is necessary. I have spoken many times before about the clear evidence of what can happen if there is ‘free parking’ or no control at a hospital car park, where it becomes an unofficial ‘park and ride’, and in recent months there has been clear evidence of this being fact in one area of the UK.
    
In Scotland, the government took a decision to remove all parking charges at NHS hospitals at the beginning of 2009. Generally speaking, public consensus was in favour of the initiative when it was first introduced, with hospital charges being labelled ‘a stealth tax on the sick and vulnerable’. However, recent reports suggest that opinion is rapidly turning, as car parks are being transformed into what we have witnessed before – unofficial ‘park and ride’ facilities – and hence the car parks are failing to serve the needs of those who need to use them.
    
In April this year, Councillor Marie Boulton called on the Scottish Government to reinstate parking charges after patients and visitors to Aberdeen’s Royal Infirmary hospital were unable to find spaces because of other drivers – non hospital users – frequenting the car park. Whilst underlining the need to free up space for individuals who genuinely need to use the hospital car park, Councillor Boulton acknowledged the fact that charges ‘shouldn’t be used for income generation’ but merely to deter misuse.

Negative feedback
Indeed, following the scrapped charges it was reported that complaints at St John’s Hospital in Livingston actually increased because commuters and shoppers were exploiting the free facilities and genuine visitors to the hospital were unable to find a car parking space. Similar issues have been raised at other hospitals in Scotland, echoing those raised previously in other parts of the UK. In an online comment to a local Edinburgh paper, a resident living near the Western General hospital claimed that “free parking had been an unmitigated disaster” and that “previous capping of parking charges at a maximum of £3 per day was a sensible move”.
    
A woman, who has worked in Glasgow’s Southern General Hospital for over 18 years, commented on a local Glasgow paper blog one week after the initiative was implemented exposing the difficulties she was experiencing as a result of the removal of fees. The lady in question was forced to park ten minutes away from the hospital because the free car parking had resulted in the hospital and surrounding area becoming so congested, she must now regularly face a substantial walk alone to get to work. This raises the debate of whether members of the public and NHS staff would think twice about a small parking fee in exchange for personal safety and the ability to find a car parking space with more ease than currently is the situation.
    
I have visited a number of the hospital car parks in Scotland to see for myself if this is indeed the case, and unfortunately it is true. The hospitals with no car parking enforcement or management are over-used. Of course, I am unable to say whether this is through patient/staff/visitor use or by members of the general public, however when measured against a visit to a hospital parking facility which had enforcement the difference was clearly visible.

Maintenance costs
Furthermore, as we have pointed out in the past, abolishing charges at hospital car parking facilities does not abolish the costs needed for maintenance and upkeep. For example, in Scotland’s case NHS Grampian has apparently received around £300,000 this year from the Scottish government to fund car park management and maintenance. If this is an annual sum, will it inevitably have to come out of hospital budgets at some stage in the future? Therefore, is it possible that under the ‘free car parking scheme’ the NHS and Trusts resources may be redirected to fund parking facilities?
    
The NHS’s priority is to deliver care and the constant debate on the provision of free parking at our hospitals should not overshadow the other significant areas relating to hospital provision in the UK.
    
The BPA has long defended the need to properly control parking serving England’s hospitals, as such measures are necessary to deter commuter parking, encourage a turnover of spaces and to secure funds necessary for car park maintenance. We believe that without adequate funding secured from parking charges, not only will the healthcare budget suffer, but car parking facilities will begin to deteriorate and hospitals will eventually be faced with extensive refurbishing costs within five to ten years, which in the long run will cost significantly more money.
    
We also reiterate the point raised by many commentators that hospital car parks must not become sources for ‘income generation’, and that car park charges should be regulated in accordance with local tariffs and facility management costs. Also recognising that even small fees can have a damaging economic impact on vulnerable households over an extended period of time, the BPA is keen to alert the public to established Trusts who assist low-income families and long-term patients with parking fees.

A bold decision
Essentially, while Scotland has taken what some have called ‘the bold decision’ to scrap charges at hospital car parks, this may now only appear as a goodwill gesture to NHS staff, patients and visitors. The very people the charges were removed to assist seem not to be reaping the full benefits of the initiative and are suffering due to overcrowded, misused facilities and alternative investment will be required to manage the car parking facilities going forward.
    
So the BPA has risen to the challenge and is consulting on a Hospital Parking Charter. This will encourage Trusts and car park operators to set fair and proportionate tariffs in car parks, provide concessions for long-term patients and ensure that any enforcement is both reasonable and fully understood by users. We hope to publish the Charter in the Autumn.
    
We are committed to delivering continuous improvements in the parking industry and we are fully committed to helping NHS Trusts to make decisions which fit their area, patients, staff and visitors.
    
The debate over hospital car parking is a complex one and set to continue. Any Trust looking for further information in this area should contact us as we are here to help.

About the BPA
As the recognised authority within the parking industry, the BPA represents, promotes and influences the best interests of the parking and traffic management sectors throughout the UK and Europe. As well as this work, the BPA provides its members with a range of benefits all aimed at helping the professional in their day to day work.