All NHS hospitals have finally axed their car park charges in Wales – but English patients continue to pay up to £4 an hour

PATIENT parking is now free across all Welsh NHS hospitals – 10 years after policy was brought into effect.

Then-health minister Edwina Hart announced the plan in March 2008, but existing contracts with parking firms were in place until the end of August.

Carmarthenshire-based Glangwili General and Prince Philip were the last two hospitals with ongoing charges.

They are both managed by the Hywel Dda University Health Board, which has now introduced validated parking.

Wales is the first UK region to axe car park fees, however, Scotland is also on the brink of clearing all hospital parking charges.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who was previously Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing, also led the scrappage of car park fees at the vast majority of NHS sites at the end of 2008.

However, three hospitals that had car parks built as part of Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contracts proved too expensive to buy out – and so continue to charge drivers.

Scottish patients saved over £25million in fees from 2008 to 2015 alone.

Meanwhile in England, NHS car park users pay £1.98 on average per hour, and The Royal Surrey County Hospital in Guildford charges £4 an hour – the most expensive in the country.

A had a second reading in the House of Commons in mid-June.

But  to an ongoing parking fee petition stating, it “would mean losing over £200million for patient car budgets, and result in fewer spaces being available for genuine users”.

It added: “Since introducing free parking at hospitals, Scotland and Wales have seen other issues arise, such as illegitimate use and a lack of spaces. Having a parking regime prevents these problems.”

Joe Teape, Hywel Dda University Health Board’s director of operations and deputy CEO, said ahead of the fee axing: “Parking has long been an issue at our hospital sites and I’d firstly like to acknowledge the frustrations that this has caused our staff, patients and visitors.

“We will soon be coming to the end of our existing arrangements and we want to take this opportunity to put a new and improved system in place to make it easier for people to park.

A Welsh Government spokesman added: “We are pleased to see free parking is now in place at all hospitals in Wales.

“Car parking charges are often an unfair expense on people frequently attending NHS hospitals, whether they are patients, staff or visitors.

“Free parking provides a fairer and more consistent approach to parking policy.”