Royal Surrey to Introduce Parking Charges for the Disabled

Published on: 17 Aug, 2017
Updated on: 18 Aug, 2017

Up until now blue badge holders have been able to park at the Royal Surrey free, in designated spaces.

The Royal Surrey County Hospital will be introducing car parking charges for blue badge holders from October 1, 2017. A representative of a local disabled persons’ organisation has reacted: “We are very disappointed…”.

The badge holders will be required to pay a discounted flat rate of £4 per visit, which is in line with the fee charged to the trust’s long-term oncology patients. Car park charges at the Royal Surrey are some of the highest in the country.

The hospital says it will work with blue badge holders to ensure that those who are in receipt of certain benefits or of low income will be exempt from this new charge.

The hospital’s director of human resources and business support, Alf Turner, said: “In an ideal world we would not have to charge anyone for car parking, however the Royal Surrey, like all NHS hospitals, is faced with having to make difficult decisions at a time when budgets are under pressure and demand is increasing.

“Our priority remains to deliver the very best patient care and outcomes and we need to make sure we can continue to invest in this.

Alf Turner RSCH

“As such we work to ensure that all NHS funding and income that we are given is invested solely towards this purpose and not diverted to other areas, such as car
parking.

“We will not allow anything to get in the way of patient care and I would like to take this opportunity to stress that any patient, carer or visitor, who is entitled to free parking will have their fee reimbursed.

“The trust’s executive team has thought long and hard before making this decision to introduce a car parking fee for blue badge holders, but running and maintaining our car parking facilities is incredibly expensive.

“The revenue from car parking is used to provide and maintain our car parks and any additional income is put back into patient care.”

A hospital spokesperson said: “There are no plans to increase other car park charges at this time.”

Although the hospital said it had contacted Healthwatch Surrey, when the news was broken to Cliff Bush, chairman of the Surrey Coalition of Disabled People, based in Burpham, by The Guildford Dragon NEWS he said: “Oh no!”

Later, Mr Bush added: “We are very disappointed with the decision to introduce charges for blue badge holders at the Royal Surrey. Over recent years, society has continued to downgrade services for people with disabilities through the reduction of welfare benefits which, for some, has even resulted in homelessness.

“Those with disabilities need free access to hospital facilities and putting a financial barrier in place yet again increases the impact of the benefits reductions.”

The Royal Surrey confirmed that it had not given notice of the change to the Surrey Coalition of Disabled People but had informed Healthwatch Surrey which has been invited by The Guildford Dragon to comment.

Under the new rules, subject to paying the £4 flat fee, blue badge holders will continue to have exclusive use of designated spaces and be able to park anywhere if those spaces are taken.

In September 2016, the hospital raised the car parking charges less than 12 months after the previous hike. The hospital justified the charges saying that the money raised would be used to make improvements to the car park.

At the time the BBC reported that parking charges at the Royal Surrey were the highest in the country.

In the year ending March 2017, the hospital collected £1.2 million in car park fees. From that sum, as well as paying for maintenance and the improvements, an undisclosed percentage goes to the contractors who manage the car park operation.

Since the last rise car park capacity has been increased and electronic payment systems introduced.

The hospital spokesperson added: “We continue to work with Guildford Borough Council and the University of Surrey to address the local parking issues and we are encouraging greener solutions such as buses, cycling and car-sharing.

“We are adamant that all the money we receive for patient care is used for that purpose and not diverted into car parking. Our use of a contractor means that they bring their expertise to operate the car parking efficiently, for all concerned.

“Anyone affected by the new charge who is in real financial hardship and is in receipt of certain benefits should contact us. We don’t want anyone to struggle because of the parking charges.”

Those in in receipt of one of the following income related benefits are exempt: income support; income related employment and support allowance; working tax credit; child tax credit; income based job seeker’s allowance; pension credit guaranteed credit. Those in possession of a valid: HC2 certificate; HC3 certificate; NHS tax credit exemption certificate are similarly exempt.

Responses to Royal Surrey to Introduce Parking Charges for the Disabled

Chris Syner Reply

August 17, 2017 at 5:03 pm

My late mother had a blue badge and although she would pay, where required, it was an almighty effort for her to get from the car to the ticket machine and then back to the car, all with her walking frame, to place the ticket. By that time she was so exhausted she didn’t want to go anywhere.

That is why blue badge holders shouldn’t pay.
Martin Elliott Reply

August 17, 2017 at 6:51 pm

People on some benefits or NHS certificates are not exempt. Whilst they may also be allowed mileage payments (half the rate used by HMRC!) the fees have to be paid, and topped up if an appointment or a treatment overruns. You then have to apply for a refund.

They are given if you have evidence, from the hidden cashier’s office, only open in the mornings. Fine if you have another appointment, but also a long walk, for example from St Lukes Cancer Centre.

The claim can be posted in, but how much are an envelope and stamp now?

Amusingly, when I was on five-weeks treatment, the clerk always asked if I wanted to claim for ‘today’. Every time I had to explain that the parking ticket was in the car for inspection.
Brian Creese Reply

August 17, 2017 at 9:07 pm

The reduced rate of £4 is still far higher than parking in Guildford High Street. It is not patients’ choice that our hospitals have been centralised and taken out of their immediate localities, it has been done for efficiency and economy.

Yet patients are paying an increasingly high price for having to go to hospital or visit friends and relatives.
Of course this is an outrage for Blue Badge holders who have mobility problems, but it is an outrage to have to pay these charges even if you do not have disabilities.

It is Labour Party policy that hospitals should not charge for car parking of patients and visitors and I think this is entirely just and proper.

We pay for the NHS through taxation not by having to pay excessively for parking when visiting.
Jim Allen Reply

August 17, 2017 at 10:59 pm

Is this to justify the unusually low parking meters which require a double bow to read the instruction and a courtesy to extract the ticket and read the screen – they have admitted installing them in two locations so that people over 5ft 4 have to stoop to operate them. People with bending problems over that height have severe disadvantage already.

Surely Blue Badge holders are almost guaranteed to require hospital attendance. They should be able to park free – I have never heard so much nonsense.

Ed: We believe the lower height machines are to facilitate payment by wheel chair users.
Bernard Parke Reply

August 18, 2017 at 9:14 am

Is this a tax on the sick?
Adam Aaronson Reply

August 20, 2017 at 7:55 am

As if life wasn’t difficult enough for the disabled.