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Hospital parking charges suspended | Hospital parking charges suspended |
(32 minutes later) | |
Parking charges at three Scottish hospitals will be scrapped for the next three months, Health Secretary Jeane Freeman has confirmed. | Parking charges at three Scottish hospitals will be scrapped for the next three months, Health Secretary Jeane Freeman has confirmed. |
Ms Freeman told MSPs that charges at Dundee’s Ninewells Hospital, Glasgow Royal Infirmary and Edinburgh Royal Infirmary will be waived from Monday. | Ms Freeman told MSPs that charges at Dundee’s Ninewells Hospital, Glasgow Royal Infirmary and Edinburgh Royal Infirmary will be waived from Monday. |
Charging for parking at other NHS car parks in Scotland was scrapped in 2008. | Charging for parking at other NHS car parks in Scotland was scrapped in 2008. |
But the remaining three car parks require users to pay because they are run by private operators. | |
The charges could not be scrapped due to long-term private finance initiative (PFI) contracts. | The charges could not be scrapped due to long-term private finance initiative (PFI) contracts. |
There have been widespread calls for the fees to be waived while staff fight the coronavirus. | There have been widespread calls for the fees to be waived while staff fight the coronavirus. |
The move followed discussions with the car park operators and individual health boards. | The move followed discussions with the car park operators and individual health boards. |
Announcing the decision, Ms Freeman said: “We cannot have barriers to staff working in the NHS. | |
"Last week I said I would act, if I could, to remove parking charges from those PFI car parks in our hospital settings. | |
"So, from Monday 30 March, car parking charges will be removed for the next three months." | |
Staff at Ninewells currently pay £2.40 per day for parking, with those parking at Edinburgh charged £7.20. | Staff at Ninewells currently pay £2.40 per day for parking, with those parking at Edinburgh charged £7.20. |
Those parking at Glasgow Royal Infirmary are charged £1.80 per hour. | Those parking at Glasgow Royal Infirmary are charged £1.80 per hour. |
An online petition calling for the charges to be scrapped at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak collected almost 6,000 signatures. | An online petition calling for the charges to be scrapped at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak collected almost 6,000 signatures. |
NHS Tayside confirmed the new arrangements would be in place from Monday. | |
It said it was finalising how the temporary arrangements would work in practice and would be sharing the detail with staff and the public in the coming days. | It said it was finalising how the temporary arrangements would work in practice and would be sharing the detail with staff and the public in the coming days. |
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