The Brits are up in arms again about their National Health Service charging for parking. A hospital in Cambridge is set to make about $6 million in revenue this year. Of course this has set off the usual suspects and all hell is breaking loose.
But let’s review the bidding – They just built a $23 million parking structure. They have over 3000 parking spaces; they are contracted with NCP. There is lighting, security, cleaning, maintenance, and of course the staff require to run the parking operation on a daily basis. The debt on the $23 million alone is nearly $2 million.
From where is the money supposed to come? The press is calling the income a “tax on being sick.” Just who is supposed to pay for the parking operation at the hospital? The government pays for everything else ( and from all reports, the National Health Service is a typical government run mess) do they want to add the parking operation to the list of problems.
My understanding is that free parking at UK hospitals has been a major issue for years. When parking is free, it is chaos. Folks from the surrounding community park at the hospital, and there is no space for staff or visitors. There have been cases where the parking was so scarce ambulances couldn’t find a place to drop off their charges. Once paid parking was introduced, the problems were solved instantly.
This goes right back to the old adage that parking should be free. The Magna Carta has, somewhere in its ancient scrolls, an entire section on the requirement of the government to have free parking for all.
The hospital should put a plaque on the operating room “Parking Charges paid for this operation.” Maybe folks wouldn’t be so upset.
JVH
