The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Parking fee misery to end for hospital visitors
Car parking charges at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee will finally come to an end after a £9 million deal to bring them into public hands was agreed by the Scottish Government.
Ninewells was one of only three Scottish hospitals where staff and visitors were forced to pay to park due to finance deals struck with private operators.
Parking charges have been suspended at the existing hospital PFI facilities since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
Holyrood said it has now struck deals with the operator of the car park at Ninewells, and Glasgow Royal Infirmary, to buy out the contract and make this permanent.
The move comes less than three years after the Scottish Government claimed such a move would bring “significant sums of capital and revenue cost implications” for public bodies.
Former health secretary Shona Robison previously said: “Given the financial constraints… investment in this area would reduce the amount of money that can be invested in clinical services.
“For these reasons we have not attempted to buy out the car park contract at Ninewells.”
The PFI deal had been due to run until 2028.
Current health secretary Humza Yousaf said yesterday: “We all owe a huge debt of gratitude to our NHS workforce for their heroic efforts throughout the pandemic and this will ensure that, along with patients and visitors using our hospitals, they will not face the prospect of parking charges returning.
“There are no car parking changes in place at any hospitals after this Scottish Government secured an arrangement to suspend these at the three PFI sites at the start of the pandemic.
“Charges at other NHS car parks had already been abolished by this government. This announcement shows we are determined to ensure they will not return at any PFI site in Scotland.”
Negotiations to buy out the contract at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary are expected to conclude within months, Mr Yousaf added.
John Paterson, NHS Tayside’s director of facilities, said: “We know that the suspension of car parking charges at Ninewells Hospital has benefited patients, staff and visitors alike and it has made a real difference to those who have come on to our site since March 2020.
“Today’s announcement of the permanent removal of parking charges at Ninewells is welcome news for everyone.
“We have worked closely with the Scottish Government and car park operators Saba UK to achieve this and we are continuing to work with Saba UK to ensure car parks are managed effectively, enabling patients, staff and visitors to park safely at the hospital.”
It is likely to be one of the more positive outcomes from our battle with the coronavirus in Tayside. The return of parking areas at Ninewells Hospital to public hands will signal the end of charging for patients, staff and visitors.
Parking fees have been suspended at the Dundee hospital site since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. The move means they will be banished permanently, bringing Ninewells into line with the rest of Scotland.
The cost of parking has been a source of contention in this area since the SNP scrapped charges at hospitals elsewhere in 2008.
Ninewells and two other sites, in Glasgow and Edinburgh, were stuck with the costs because of PFI (private finance initiative) schemes agreed by a previous Labour administration.
These still had several years to run – until 2028 in Dundee’s case – and the £9 million bill for getting out of the Ninewells deal shows just what a lucrative business this has been.
The discrepancy looks unfair enough on paper.
But The Courier has reported on countless examples of how it has harmed people over the years, including distressed families, hardworking NHS staff and nearby residents who have seen their streets turned into unofficial free car parks.
Today has been a long time coming and it should be an occasion for satisfaction for all those who refused to accept another seven years of a discriminatory status quo.