You might have seen the recent campaign to secure additional car parking at the Royal Oldham Hospital. It is something I was keen to support alongside work we have been doing on car parking charges and enforcement.
Across Greater Manchester there is a postcode lottery on charges for staff, patients and visitors, with some paying significantly more to work, receive care, or to visit a loved one.
Securing additional car parking spaces is important and it must not fall to patients, visitors or staff to pay more for such a basic service.
Over the past few months I have tabled a number of Parliamentary Questions on parking income, costs and investment. The findings are interesting.
Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust, which operates four acute hospitals, reported total parking income last year of £5,918,971. This included £2,208,479 from patients and visitors and £1,245,693 from its staff. The Trust recorded £5,281,122 in operating costs for car parking, indicating a surplus of £637,849.
Within these figures, the Royal Oldham Hospital site provides 1,727 parking spaces, including 53 disabled bays.
Data submitted to the Government shows that the average fee charged at Royal Oldham is £1.00 per hour for patients and visitors. This compares to £0.66 per hour at Salford Royal, which is a larger acute hospital within the same Trust.
So even within the same Trust there are variations from one hospital site to another.
But so too is the experience of those using car parks. It is clear more spaces are needed on site, even with additional car parking secured nearby anyone who has used the site knows the walk up the incline at Sheepfoot Lane can be challenging with any mobility issues, but it is also unnecessary for the payment machines at the hospital only to accept coins (without change given) with only App payments and no contactless option.
If you’ve used the hospital you’ll know lighting isn’t very good at some car parks and so many users will understandably not want to take out their phone to register, pay and wait for confirmation in the evening or at night. That’s aside from the obvious rush and anxiety many will feel if a loved one has just been admitted to hospital. Investment in machines which allow contactless payment is overdue.
So it’s clear to me that a fundamental review is needed which starts at the experience of staff, patients and visitors using the car parks.
We are in discussions with the Trust, Major Eddy Hardaker (chair of the campaign) and Cllr Dr Zahid Chauhan OBE who initiated the call for action.
Jim McMahon OBE MP 