Following a review of NHS Boards’ car park charging policies parking fees will be removed for patients, staff and visitors at hospitals across the country.  A temporary cap of £3 per day has been in place since January 2008 while many hospital car parks in Scotland are already free.  The announcement will affect 14 hospitals where charges still operate.    

The removal of charges will take effect from 31 December, before which NHS Boards are expected to submit their plans on how they will deal with potential increases in demand, promotion of more environmentally friendly forms of transport and the possible use of spaces by commuters, shoppers and others, which will be assessed by the Scottish Government. 

Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said the move would bolster the NHS principle of healthcare being free at the point of delivery and reduce the financial burden on hospital patients, staff and family.  She said: "In this 60th anniversary year of NHS Scotland, I am determined that the founding principles of our health service remain intact.

"Chief among these is that the NHS should be free at the point of delivery and it is my firm belief that this should apply whether one comes to hospital as a patient, visitor or a member of staff.

"It's simply not fair to expect patients or visitors to have to pay when they come to hospital, when they may be suffering personal anxiety, stress or grief. Put bluntly, a car parking charge is often the last thing people need.

"So it gives me great pleasure today to put an end to such charges in all publicly-operated hospital car parks.

Jackson Carlaw MSP, Conservatives Shadow Minister for Public Health, welcomed the news and accused Labour and the Lib Dems of hypocrisy over the issue.  He said: “Scottish Conservatives have consistently campaigned against the hated Lib/Lab hospital parking tax. We were told it would only be introduced as a last resort to prevent congestion problems but instead became a cynical stealth tax on dedicated staff, vulnerable patients and concerned visitors. I am therefore delighted that the Lib/Lab parking tax is to be abolished.

“No doubt Labour and the Lib Dems will welcome this announcement in yet another vain attempt to distance themselves from their own policies, but the public will not be fooled by such rank hypocrisy. People will not forget that this tax was introduced by the Lib/Lab Pact and abolished by the SNP under pressure from the Scottish Conservatives."

Three Private Finance Initiative (PFI) hospitals will not see their charges axed however as the Government claim the costs of early termination would be prohibitive.  Sturgeon said she wanted health boards to work with contractors to limit and lower the charges until the contracts finish.  

NHS trade union, UNISON welcomed the charge abolition but slammed the Government’s failure to remove parking fees from PFI sites.  UNISON Glasgow and Clyde Branch Secretary, Cathy Miller said: “Obviously we are pleased that the Government has decided to give way to pressure from UNISON and the public. No one agreed with this additional tax on staff, patients and visitors. But we are angry that the Minister seems unwilling to be bold enough to remove charges from PPP/PFI sites. This decision will create a two tier system with staff and patients who are unlucky enough to be on a PFI site such as Glasgow Royal Infirmary [GRI] being charged for the pleasure.”

“If car parking charges are to remain on site at GRI, then staff will see it as a real kick in the teeth. We want to meet with the NHS employers immediately to find out what they are going to do to help staff and patients. If they can’t or won’t do anything we’ll take the matter up again with Government.”