A&E park boost

Hospital parking fees could soon be axed for in-patients across England, according to the Government.

Despite recent public outrage over revelations that hospitals raked in millions of pounds each year from parking alone, some sites are still cashing in on the practice.

A freedom of information request in July revealed that Harrogate District Hospital in N Yorks netted £1.4million in three years for its parking bays.

But Health Secretary Andy Burnham has promised the practice will be phased out over three years for in-patients, if his party wins the next election.

Critics argue that Burnham’s pledge amounts to little more than an empty gesture, as it still leaves visitors and out-patients, who are arguably more likely to use the bays, with hefty fees to pay.

Parking charges were scrapped at most hospitals in Wales in March last year.