Rochdale MP condemns tax on the sick

Date published: 21/03/2007

Rochdale MP Paul Rowen has slammed the recent figures which show that the Acute Pennine Trust are collecting an astonishing £1,533,496 in Car Parking Fees in just a year.  Mr Rowen says the Trust should revisit the parking fees at Rochdale Infirmary.

Mr Rowen said: "Car Parking has long been a problem at Rochdale Infirmary, indeed this has caused residents untold problems.  Problems that the Rochdale Township have long been wrestling with and are close to resolving.  It is quite obvious though that the Trust have been using patients and people visiting the hospital as a cash cow and it is high time they scrapped charges at the Infirmary.  I am sure that this decision will go some way to alleviating problems that local residents around the Infirmary have had to put up with.

"I would like to see exactly where this money, which I would describe as a tax on the sick, is going.  The money, like in most other areas, is probably being used to plug the deficits rather than going towards patient care.  This is nothing more than a tax on the sick and vulnerable, it is unacceptable that some patients have had to pay out hundreds of pounds to attend hospital for treatment."

A spokesman for Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust said: "It's unusual that these comments don't note the actual cost of car parking. This figure covers all four of the Trust’s hospital sites: the Royal Oldham Hospital, North Manchester General Hospital, Crumpsall, Fairfield General Hospital, Bury, and Rochdale Infirmary. As with any income received by the Trust, it's used for services.

"Because we are such a large Trust, we have a large number of car parking spaces when compared to other hospitals. Many hospitals across the country charge far more than we do – for example, we currently charge £1.40 for four hours car parking, while the Oxford Radcliffe NHS Hospitals Trust, which is also on the list, charges more than double that. Our position more reflects the number of car parking spaces we have, rather than the amount we charge. 

"Motorists expect car parks to be in good condition, and we have to ensure that disabled spaces are not used by those without entitlement – many of our patients and visitors are registered disabled.

"Last time this list was complied we were in eighth position, now we’ve dropped down two places."