Disabled patients will now have to pay for parking at hospital

The William Harvey Hospital is to start charging disabled patients to park for the first time.

The East Kent hospitals trust says “financial pressures” have forced it to ditch a longrunning free concession for blue badge holders at the Harvey and its other hospital sites – the Kent & Canterbury and the QEQM in Margate.

It means from Monday, April 24, disabled motorists or those who care for them will now have to pay a set fee of £2 a day at all three hospitals.

The trust’s director of strategic development and capital planning, Liz Shutler, says a fifth of parking bays at its hospital sites are currently allocated to blue badge holders free of charge.

She said: “Over recent years, we’ve done all we can to keep the status quo and William Harvey Hospital avoid imposing charges that are applied at other Kent and Medway hospital trusts.

“But the financial pressures that the NHS is facing means that we now have reluctantly decided to introduce modest charges, with a concession, for blue badge holders using our car parks.

“Blue badge holders will only have to pay a flat fee of £2 per day so they do not have to preestimate how much parking to buy on arrival or worry about their ticket expiring.

“And those with a blue badge can benefit from other conces- sions, particularly if they have to attend one of our hospitals on a regular basis as there will be an option to purchase a 14-day ticket for just £6.”

She said signs will be erected warning of the changes to minimise disruption.

Should disabled drivers pay for parking at the William Harvey Hospital? Write to Kentish Express, 34-36 North Street, Ashford TN24 8JR or email kentishexpress@ thekmgroup.co.uk