Government urged to scrap hospital parking fees

Patients and visitors in Gloucestershire shelled out £1,424,991 in hospital car parking fees last year (2021/22), new NHS figures have revealed. 

Cllr Paul Hodgkinson, Lib Dem Parliamentary Spokesperson for the Cotswolds, called the fees a 'tax on the sick', and urged the Government to scrap car parking fees for patients and visitors during the cost-of-living emergency. 

This would be paid for by the government instead of coming out of overstretched hospital budgets.

Commenting, Councillor Paul Hodgkinson, said:

“As our hospitals are pushed to breaking point, it is local people who are paying the price. 

“This is a tax on people who are unwell and the people caring for them. Gloucestershire residents now not only have to worry about terrible waiting times and understaffed hospitals, but also whether they can even afford to visit loved ones.

“The government should immediately provide the funding needed to scrap parking charges for patients and relatives. 

“It is completely wrong that local residents have to shell out thousands of pounds to see their ill loved ones during this cost-of- living emergency."