If concerns are raised as part of a care quality inspection that patients are receiving sub-standard care or not receiving the quality of care that they should be as a result of being unable to access services, there would of course be a role for the chief inspector of hospitals and the CQC to raise that as part of their inspection report. I am sure that is something the chief inspector will bear in mind for the 40 hospital sites that
at the moment do not have concessions for those who are very unwell or who are disabled. I am that those trusts, which will be listening keenly to this debate, will bear that in mind and will want to take action, hopefully before the refreshed guidance is produced.
I know that time is pressing and I do not wish to detain the House much further, but I want quickly to outline a few of the other measures that are in place as part of the principles that will underpin the guidance, which hopefully will reassure right hon. and hon. Members that the Government have taken appropriate steps to address these issues.
Staff parking is an important issue. I probably speak as the only Member—currently, at least—who, as a practising hospital doctor, has genuine, first-hand experience of this issue. It is important to look after our front-line staff. Car parking in hospitals should not be allocated according to staff seniority or because someone happens to be a senior manager; it should be allocated according to the needs of staff and the type of care and shift patterns they provide. That is made very clear in the principles underpinning the guidance to be published.
On payments for hospital parking, our principles say that trusts should consider pay-on-exit or similar schemes, whereby drivers pay only for the time they have used, and fines should be imposed only where they are reasonable and should be waived when overstaying is beyond the driver’s control. Details of charges, concessions and penalties should be well publicised, including at car park entrances, wherever payment is made, including inside the hospital. The issue has been raised of the sharp practice sometimes carried out by the management of car parks in hospitals, and we have made it clear in the principles underpinning the guidance that those practices are unacceptable.
Finally, on contracted-out car parking—another issue raised in the debate—NHS organisations remain responsible for the actions of private contractors who run car parks on their behalf. NHS organisations are expected to act against rogue contractors in line with the relevant codes
of practice, where applicable. Contracts should not be let out on any basis that incentivises fines—for example, income from penalties only. This Government expect hospitals to take action against contractors who behave irresponsibly, short-change people and behave badly towards patients, their relatives and staff.
I hope that I have reassured the House, particularly those who brought this debate before us today, that this Government take the issue very seriously and believe that unacceptable behaviour by hospitals and unacceptable hospital car parking charges will become things of the past.
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