Hospital car parking charges are set to be abolished at all health and social care settings across Northern Ireland.
The Hospital Parking Charges Bill was originally introduced in the Northern Ireland Assembly on 18 October 2021 by the then Bill Sponsor, former MLA Fra McCann, and is now set to attain Royal Assent, making way for ticketed paid parking to soon become a thing of the past.
Over recent months Stormont’s Committee for Health heard from a number of stakeholders regarding the impending change. Many of those who responded referred to the financial burden of parking charges, particularly on low paid staff, with staff reportedly paying up to £11 per day to park on hospital sites.
Stakeholders commented that public transport is not always a viable alternative for those who work shifts, those who live in rural areas, or for those who are required to use their cars for work purposes in the community. Allied Health Professions Federation Northern Ireland (AHPFNI) explained that some of their members are required to carry specialist equipment, which cannot be easily brought on to public transport.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) told the Committee:
“We do not believe that the HSC should be reliant in this way upon an income stream deriving directly from its own staff and nor do we believe that it is either fair or appropriate to imply to staff that patient services would need to be cut in order to sustain the costs of free car parking”.
The Committee took the view that, whilst it understood the financial pressures facing the Department, the burden of car parking costs should not be carried by staff or patients.
Both the Belfast and South Eastern Trusts expressed concerns in regards to ongoing capacity issues on their hospital sites, and argued that the abolition of charges would create greater difficulties, ‘because those who do not park there at present may do so if it were free’. The Belfast Trust advised that they would need to identify 1500 spaces to address capacity issues at its sites.
The Department of Health acknowledged that capacity is a major concern. In oral evidence to the Committee officials stated that:
“Passing the Bill immediately would really test and stretch capacity, and we would see operational issues at hospitals, where you would have queues and full car parks.
“There would be queues to get to appointments, and some appointments would be missed, which is a major concern”.
The Department stated that while it supports the intent of the Bill, it needs to strike the right balance to ensure that the available capacity can be best utilised to meet the needs of those who require it.
A spokesperson for the Northern Health and Social Care Trust said:
"A response has been received by the Trust which advises that the Hospital Car Parking Bill which abolishes charges at hospital sites has passed all stages and is waiting on Royal Assent which anticipated is due in May 2022.
"As it is in the final stages of approval, the Bill was amended to provide for a two year implementation time-line and assuming Royal Assent is given then car parking charges will be abolished from May 2024.
"There is now a regional working group being led by the Department of Health to agree a consistent approach as to how traffic would be managed on very busy hospital sites whilst assuring the most appropriate and best access can be given to site nurses, patients, staff and visitors alike."
Health Committee Deputy Chairperson and DUP South Antrim MLA Pam Cameron has welcomed the news and told Love Ballymena:
"This is a very significant bill which I know will be well received by hospital staff and those visiting patients. Scrapping parking charges will rightly keep money in the pockets of our NHS staff who should not be forced to pay to come to work.
“It will also ease the financial pressure, particularly for those making regular visits to loved ones on long-stays in hospital facilities. I know of many families of terminally ill patients who have had to incur significant parking expenses during what are understandably very distressing times.
“We need to ensure the parking capacity is there for staff and visitors alike, whilst also working to improve our public transport network.
“This Bill will not be implemented overnight but the work must begin earnestly now to see it delivered across Northern Ireland. It is imperative that the Department of Health and Department of Infrastructure work closer together to develop additional parking space in the vicinity of our Hospitals and deliver better public transport links.”
Due to the practical and financial implications from the scrapping of car parking charges, the Department of Health will have two years, up until May 2024, to implement the changes.