Fair parking for all

Many people who attend NHS hospitals, either as patients or visitors, expect car parking to be free. However, given the limits on space, the costs involved and the demand for spaces, car parking needs to be managed properly. Often the most effective way to do this is by charging for parking. This recognises the value of a car parking space; the needs of other users of the hospital; the environmental impact of driving; and the need to maintain and improve car parks by reinvesting income.
    
To strike the right balance between being fair to patients and others, including staff, and making sure that facilities are managed effectively for the good of everyone, the British Parking Association (BPA), backed by the NHS Confederation and the Healthcare Facilities Consortium, has published a Hospital Parking Charter, which is aimed at both NHS Trusts and car park operators.

Help with management
The Charter, following a period of consultation in 2009 canvassing views and opinions of all involved and affected by hospital parking – from NHS Trusts to patient groups – has been refined to create a robust document which will help guide hospital parking management in the future. The resulting document strives to raise standards in the parking sector and deliver a more professional service to the public.
    
The guidelines will help the health sector with parking management issues. There has been much debate about parking at hospitals and we hope our Charter will provide some much needed direction for this particular sector, and therefore the BPA is encouraging all NHS Trusts to sign up.
    
Providing, managing and paying for hospital car parking needs to be seen in the context of delivering a better and fairer service to users. Both NHS Trusts and car park operators recognise the importance of car parking policy, both in terms of the wider transport strategy and the need to manage traffic and parking in line with demand and environmental needs. They also recognise the importance of professionalism in delivering their services and providing a high standard of customer care. In particular, it is essential to provide safe car parking for hospital users.
    
The Charter is designed to help and encourage NHS Trusts to provide parking management systems that are fair for all. The issue of parking management at hospitals is a hot topic, regularly debated, and in response to this the BPA has produced guidelines to help Trusts and car park operators deliver effective and efficient parking for users – many of whom have particular needs.
    
Bringing together the interests of hospital car park users (staff, visitors and patients), government, local authorities and commercial organisations, the Charter will be circulated to all NHS Trusts across the UK. Some NHS Trusts, including Blackpool, have already indicated their support for the Charter, are expected to be amongst the first to sign up, and many parking operators have already added their name to the Charter.

Charter recommendations
The recommendations made in the charter will commit NHS Trusts, and their parking contractors, to:

• Do their best to provide a high standard of management and customer service in their car parks
• Provide good lighting; high standards of maintenance for structures and surfaces; payment systems and equipment that are easy to use and understand; signs that are clear and easy to understand; and clearly marked parking bays
• Do their best to ensure that car parks offer a safe environment for all users and aim to meet the Park Mark® standard
• Ensure that parking tariffs and tariff structures are reasonable, reflecting supply and demand, and the cost of maintaining the facility and providing the service. Tariff structures should be set to reflect local conditions, local tariffs and the needs of all hospital users. They should take account of the hospital’s environmental policy. Also, systems need to be in place to protect the legitimate use of hospital car parks. Tariffs should also take into account what the impact on local residents would be if the level of charges drove motorists to park in local streets
• Consider the best practice advice available from organisations such as the BPA, Parking Forum, NHS Confederation and the Department of Health. In particular, information about costs and any income associated with running car parks should be clear, straightforward and published
• Tell patients who are eligible about the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme, and encourage them to claim back their charges
• Provide concessionary parking to the following people if public transport may be impractical for them or if parking charges could become a burden over time: patients with a long-term illness or serious condition needing regular or long-term treatment (for example, people having dialysis, radiotherapy or chemotherapy), and people who need to visit patients regularly.
• Work together to make sure that maximum publicity is given to such concessions and that they are taken up by eligible patients
• Consider the needs of disabled users for whom other types of transport may be impractical. Trusts and operators should make sure that there are enough disabled parking spaces and, if payment is required, that payment systems are adapted to make them easy to use
• Design systems used by car park operators to recognise the unavoidable, unplanned and unpredictable nature of visits to hospitals. Enforcement action should be designed not to penalise people whose contravention of the parking rules could not have been foreseen by them. There should always be an appeals procedure. Policies should cater for the needs of patients and visitors separately from those of staff, where different circumstances may apply
• Ensure that any enforcement is to be proportionate, with a focus on encouraging compliance. Operators should all be members of the BPA Approved Operator Scheme, and read the Charter alongside the AOS Code of Practice, particularly what it says about signs, the levels of charges and what customers can do if they feel they have been treated unfairly.

Parking charges can help to pay for maintenance and management services, and prevent these from becoming a drain on healthcare budgets. Therefore, we encourage NHS Trusts and car park operators who manage hospital car parks to sign up to this Charter and to abide by its letter and spirit.

The British Parking Association Approved Operator Scheme (AOS)
The AOS was set up by the BPA in 2007 as a response to concerns about the management of private car parking and parking on private land, and because there is no government regulation of the sector. Members of the scheme must comply with the BPA’s Code of Practice, which sets out requirements for signs in car parks, the levels of charges and what customers can do if they feel they have been treated unfairly. The Code can be viewed on the BPA website www.britishparking.co.uk
   
The BPA is an Accredited Trade Association of the DVLA (Driver & Vehicle Licensing Agency). The DVLA will only release ‘registered keeper’ information to members of the Approved Operator Scheme. The government is intending to legislate to license clamping companies so that they must also agree to comply with a Code of Practice. The government has also said that an independent appeals service should be introduced as a further option for members of the public who are unhappy about the enforcement action taken against them. The BPA wholly supports that proposal.

The Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme
The Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme entitles patients who are getting certain benefits, or who are on a low income, to reclaim travel expenses when receiving medical treatment. To see the full guidance please go to www.dh.gov.uk

NHS Trusts and their car parking contractors should define what they mean by ‘regular or long term treatment’ in consultation with patients, to reflect local demand. It might cover, for example, more than five outpatient visits during a single course of treatment or more than five nights in-patient stay. The concessions might take the form of a cap on payments; for example, free parking or reduced charges after a set number of visits.

What is the Park Mark®?
To raise the standard of safety in car parks, the BPA manages the Safer Parking Scheme (SPS) on behalf of the Association of Chief Police Officers. Its aim is to reduce the fear and perception of crime in parking areas. Police-accredited assessors carry out a risk assessment for each site, and look at how the site is managed and maintained. The parking operator must put into place measures appropriate to the surroundings that help to deter criminal activity and anti-social behaviour, in this way doing everything they can to prevent crime and reduce the fear of crime in their parking area.
   
Park Mark® is the brand of the Safer Parking Scheme, designed to set the standard for parking areas across the UK, both for the public and their vehicles. National statistics show that around 22 per cent of vehicle crimes happen in car parks. Many parking facilities with the award have seen a dramatic drop in crime. Or, if they had not suffered from vehicle-related crime, they have been able to create a safe and non-threatening environment that encourages customers to keep coming back. Car parks with the award can use signs showing the distinctive Park Mark® tick, so drivers know exactly where to go for safer parking. There are almost 4,000 Park Mark® car parks in the UK. The public can search for them and get directions to them from a dedicated website www.parkmark.co.uk