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Hospital parking fees scrapped permanently for all NHS staff in Scotland

RCN hopes move will prompt England and Northern Ireland to follow suit

RCN hopes move will prompt England and Northern Ireland to follow suit

The car park at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee
The Scottish Government is buying hospital car parks, such as this one at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee, to allow it to implement free parking for NHS staff. Picture: Google

Hospital parking charges are to be permanently scrapped for nurses and other NHS staff in Scotland.

The move means only staff in England and Northern Ireland will have to pay for hospital car parking, after charges were abolished across Wales in 2018.

Scottish Government buys hospital car parks from private companies

The Scottish Government has struck deals totalling £35 million to buy car parks at Glasgow Royal Infirmary and Ninewells Hospital in Dundee, which have previously been run by private companies. Negotiations are also under way to buy the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh car park, with a deal expected in the coming months.

Parking charges at all three sites are currently suspended as part of measures to support staff during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Scotland’s health and social care secretary Humza Yousaf said: ‘We all owe a huge debt of gratitude to our NHS workforce for their heroic efforts throughout the pandemic and this will ensure that, along with patients and visitors using our hospitals, they will not face the prospect of parking charges returning.’

Move puts pressure on England and Northern Ireland to follow suit

A House of Commons report into NHS parking found NHS staff in England were charged an average 19p an hour to park at work, rising to an average 34p an hour in some areas, such as London.

Hospital car parking is free in England and Northern Ireland at present, due to the pandemic, but the scheme will come to an end on 31 August in Northern Ireland. No end date has been announced for England.

An RCN spokesperson said they hoped the move would prompt the Westminster and Northern Ireland governments to follow Scotland’s example.


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