Hospital parking charges: Consultation launched on return of fees
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The car park at the Royal Victoria Hospital is often very busy
A consultation process on re-introducing hospital car-parking charges has been launched by the Department of Health.
Car parking charges at health sites in Northern Ireland are set to be scrapped from May.
The department said providing and maintaining car parking services would then cost the health service about £10m a year.
It said this would mean less money for health and social care services.
The department said the consultation followed direction from Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris, which required Northern Ireland departments to launch public consultations on revenue raising measures.
"This is in the context of severe financial pressures on health and social services and across the public sector," it added.
It said the proposal would mean parking charges would be restored to their current position.
The current policy includes free and concessionary parking for certain patients.
The department said if charges were to be re-introduced, these measures would be return and others could also be considered, possibly including:
Enhancing exceptions for people with a diagnosis of a terminal illness and relatives of in-patients who are terminally ill and/or receiving end of life care
Enhancing exceptions for patients with mental health disabilities and those accessing addiction services as parking charges may act as a barrier to access treatment
Providing 30 minutes of parking free across all chargeable sites which will help staff and public set down and collect people or items
Providing free staff parking to permitted pass holders
Modernised payment systems.
Unite, one of the largest health unions, previously said car parking at most of Northern Ireland's hospitals had become too costly and gridlocked due to a shortage of spaces.
The consultation can be accessed from the department website, external.
It will run for eight weeks, closing on 9 January.