Carol Nolan confronts hospital parking charges for cancer patients
Carol Nolan raised concerns about hospital car parking charges after two seriously ill cancer patients were told they would be charged despite holding a disability pass. She urged the minister to intervene with St James's management and the parking company Parkwright to check whether such charges are allowed.
Details of incident
Two cancer patients, a husband and wife, attended appointments in Dublin and were reportedly told they would face parking charges at St James's despite presenting a disability pass. Nolan described the callers as very distressed and said cancer patients face huge financial strain.
Request to the minister
Nolan said she has written to St James's management and asked the minister to investigate the situation with the company Parkwright. She noted that other hospital car parks accept the disability pass and questioned why the same practice would not apply at St James's.
Minister's response
The minister said he would chase up the matter and asked for the details to be sent to him. He acknowledged that many hospitals have arrangements whereby patients attending serious treatment get a card to avoid charges, and that arrangements vary between hospitals.
Budget measure on inpatient charges
The minister highlighted a budget measure for the following year, supported by the Irish Cancer Society, to abolish inpatient charges. He said the change will eradicate inpatient bills that could reach about €800 for a patient in a given year for time spent in hospital.
Potential impact for patients
Nolan framed the issue within the broader financial pressures facing cancer patients and called the reported charging practice particularly shocking. The exchange centers on patient protection from unexpected costs and on whether uniform disability pass policies should apply across hospital car parks.
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Minister, I know that this government is committed to improving the situation regarding car parking charges for hospital patients, however, last week I was contacted by two very distressed people, husband and wife, who were actually both cancer patients and seriously ill and attended appointments in Dublin and Galway. They were in St James's last week for an appointment and even though they had a disability pass, they were still being told that they were going to be charged. Now, cancer patients are under huge financial strain and I do not think this is correct and I am sure you will agree with me that it is particularly shocking, but I am asking for the Minister for Health to intervene with St James's management, I have already written to them, and with the company concerned, which is called Parkwright, to check whether such conditions are allowed. I do not believe they are because I know other hospital car parks do accept the disability pass. Thank you. Thank you, Minister. Thanks very much, Deputy. I am more than happy to chase that up and I know that a lot of hospitals have arrangements whereby patients coming in for serious treatment get a card. I can say, so that they avoid car parking charges entirely, it is different for different hospitals, but if you send me on the details I will look into that. What I can say is one of the important measures we have brought in for the budget for next year, which was very warmly welcomed and advocated for by the Irish Cancer Society, was the abolishment of inpatient charges. So many cancer patients face bills, not only are they dealing with all of the stress and trauma of their treatment and of living with cancer, but they can end up with a bill for €800 for their time in hospital in a given year. As of next year that has been completely eradicated and it is one of the things we are doing to reduce costs across the board for patients. Thank you. Mr. Deputy Stanton. Mr. Deputy Stanton. You
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