Labour's pledge to abolish charges for hospital parking will ease pain for patients and families

At this election, the NHS is a key issue for voters on the doorstep. As Labour’s Shadow Minister for the Community, with 24 years of experience in community pharmacy, I’ve seen first-hand how Government underfunding has pushed services, staff and patients to the brink.

Since the election was called, Labour have been setting out our plans to get the NHS back to the standards that patients need and deserve.

We will give NHS staff an overdue pay rise. We will halt hospital closures that don’t have the support of local communities. And we will invest in child health to keep the next generation fit and well and reduce the long term pressures on hospitals.

Yesterday Labour announced that we will make parking at NHS England hospitals free for patients, visitors and NHS staff. Labour created the NHS to be free at the point of use, so the next Labour government will eradicate the hidden charges of car parking fees.

I have personally campaigned for free car parking for carers at hospitals so I am really delighted by this announcement, which goes even further. Hospital parking charges place an unfair and unnecessary burden on families, carers, patients and NHS staff. Essentially these charges are a tax on illness.

It is true that our hospitals are struggling from under-funding at the hands of Theresa May’s Conservative government, but the gap should not be filled by charging sick patients, anxious relatives, carers and already hard-pressed NHS staff for what is an essential service.

Last month, a Freedom of Information request by Unison revealed some hospitals are charging staff, including nurses struggling with low wages, nearly £100 a month to park, resulting in reports of nurses having to rush out in between appointments to move their cars and avoid fines.

To pay for this £162m policy, Labour will increase the rate of Insurance Premium Tax to 20% for private healthcare insurance products. We’ll scrap the subsidy for people that can afford it, rather than charging people who can’t.

 All of Labour’s new spending commitments are fully costed and transparent, in stark contrast to the Tories. At the weekend Theresa May promised 10,000 extra mental health workers, but with no new money she will have to make cuts in others areas to fund the pledge.

The truth is that the Tories’ mismanagement and disregard have left NHS services struggling to cope.

Since Theresa May became Prime Minister, standards of care for NHS patients have collapsed. In 2016, 2.5million people waited over four hours in A&E, a 60% rise on 2015. Nearly four million people are now on the waiting list for treatment – a million higher than under the Labour Government.

So at this election there is a clear choice: between a Labour Party who will invest in the future of our health and care system, or a Conservative Party who have pushed services and staff to the brink.

It’s not right that sick and worried patients and their families are having to pay rising parking costs to plug the holes in NHS budgets.

Across the board, Labour is committed to giving the health service the support it needs to guarantee and uphold the standards which patients should expect.

Labour will renew the NHS for the 21^st Century, giving patients the modern, well-resourced services they need, both in and out of hospital, for the years to come. 

Julie Cooper is Labour’s Shadow Minister for the Community and General Election Candidate for Burnley

Related

Politicians Running The London Marathon Say It Makes Them "Better MPs"

By Zoe Crowther

21 Apr

PoliticsHome Newsletters

Get the inside track on what MPs and Peers are talking about. Sign up to The House's morning email for the latest insight and reaction from Parliamentarians, policy-makers and organisations.