Hospital charges set to stay

摘要

But the coalition says there are better uses of public money than scrapping car parking charges. Parking is already free at most hospitals in Scotland and Wales and for certain priority groups in Northern Ireland.rnHealth minister Simon Burns said:rn"Hospitals need to take responsibility for their own car parking arrangements. The requirement to provide concessions is clear, guidance is available, and local concerns where they exist need to be addressed. Hospitals need to make sure that they are behaving fairly."rnIn 2009 Labour Health Secretary Andy Burnham promised to scrap the fees, which raise about ￡110m a year. At that time, he announced removing the parking charges for all in-patients and for outpatients who have to make regular appointments - like cancer patients with regular chemotherapy sessions.