All hospital parking charges scrapped by end of year

Car parking will finally become free at all Welsh hospitals by the end of the year, a decade after the Welsh Government announced it as policy.

Just three sites still charge - the University Hospital of Wales (UHW) in Cardiff and Glangwili and Prince Philip, both in Carmarthenshire.

They had signed long contracts with commercial companies to run parking.

The charges had originally been labelled as a "tax on the sick" by the British Medical Association.

When the free hospital parking policy was announced by the then Health Minister Edwina Hart in March 2008 it was intended to start the following month.

Where health boards were already bound by legal contracts, they were required to "reduce costs for patients, staff and visitors".

In the year before the announcement, Welsh hospitals collected nearly £5.4m in parking charges.

Free parking will start at UHW on 5 June when the contract with Indigo ends.

The charges at Wales' largest hospital have been a controversial issue for staff as well as patients and visitors.

In July 2017, 75 members of staff lost a court case against Indigo which compelled them to pay thousands of pounds in parking tickets they owed.

The Cardiff and Vale University Health Board is bringing in management company Parking Eye to oversee the car parks using automatic number plate recognition cameras.

With up to 16,000 cars using the site every day, a spokesman said this will "reduce the potential of gridlock".

Fines of up to £70 will be imposed if patients and visitors use the wrong parking zones.

Anyone staying longer than four hours will need to register at terminals across the hospital site.

The board already runs a park and ride service and is considering increasing the frequency.

Hywel Dda University Health Board's car parking contracts for Prince Philip and Glangwili hospitals will expire in August - when parking charges will end.

"We are continuing to explore options for future management of car parking at the hospitals to help parking pressures for staff, patients and visitors now and in the future," added Gareth Skye, from the board.