FOI220517: Car parking charges – payment exemptions for young patients with cancer

Released 2 November 2022

Request:

1. A copy of the Trust’s parking policy 
2. Details of the price of car parking per hospital site within the Trust 
3. Confirmation of how the Trust has implemented both the mandatory and voluntary elements of the “NHS car parking guidance 2022 for NHS trusts and NHS foundation trusts”, including;  
   • a) whether parents and/or carers of children and young people (up to age 25) with cancer are offered free parking/parking exemptions 
   • b) whether parents and/or carers of children and young people (up to age 25) with cancer are offered parking concessions and details of the financial value of these 
   • c) whether young people (17-25) with cancer are offered free parking/parking exemptions 
   • d) whether young people (17-25) with cancer are offered parking concessions and details of the financial value of these 
   • e) whether any free parking/parking exemptions or concessions apply to inpatient/active treatment visits, visits to attend follow-up appointments (i.e. not undergoing active treatment), or both 
4. If yes to any items in point 3, how many parents and/or carers of children and young people (up to age 25) with cancer and/or young people (17-25) with cancer have been offered free parking/parking exemptions or concessions, provided per category (free parking/exemption, concession); 
   • a) per financial year since 2017 (2017/18, 2018/19, 2019/20, 2020/21, 2021/22, and 2022/23 to date) 
   • b) per hospital site within the Trust 
5. Details of how the Trust shares, communicates and displays information about free parking/parking exemptions and/or concessions, their eligibility, how to access them and their financial value 
6. Confirmation whether car parking within the Trust is owned and managed by the Trust or is owned and managed by a private company, and if so what company 
7. Details of how many complaints the Trust has received from parents and/or carers of children and young people (up to age 25) with cancer and/or young people (17-25) with cancer regarding car parking charges or regarding the information the Trust provides about car parking charges; 
   • a) per financial year since 2017 (2017/18, 2018/19, 2019/20, 2020/21, 2021/22, and 2022/23 to date) 
   • b) per hospital site within the NHS Trust or NHS Foundation Trust 

8. Details of any other travel-related support provided by the Trust which is available to parents and/or carers of children and young people (up to age 25) with cancer and/or young people with cancer, including;  

a) how children and young people and their parents or carers are informed of the support that is available to them 

b) how the support is accessed/applied for 

c) the financial value of the support and whether this is provided up-front or requires a claim to be paid back to the recipient  

d) the duration of the support and type of care this applies to (e.g. inpatient/active treatment, follow-up/outpatient etc.)  

Information disclosed:

1. The Trust uses NHS car parking guidance 2022 for NHS trusts and NHS foundation trusts as its parking policy. Since this information is reasonably accessible via other means, section 21 exemption under the Act is applicable.

2. Parking tariffs are available on the Trust’s website. This information can be found under the parking section for each of our sites.

• Royal Sussex County Hospital, Brighton
• Princess Royal Hospital, Haywards Heath
• St Richard’s Hospital, Chichester
• Worthing Hospital, Worthing
• Southlands Hospital, Shoreham-by-Sea

Since this information is reasonably accessible via other means, section 21 exemption under the Act is applicable.

3. The Trust’s parking arrangements Trust wide are in line with the Government Guidance on Patient and Visitor parking detailed in question 1 above:

a. The Trust offers free parking.

b. The Trust offers free parking; concession is 100% of parking cost.

c. The Trust offers free parking.

d. The Trust offers free parking; concession is 100% of parking cost.

e. For inpatient and follow ups, there is an exemption form which is given at the discretion of the medical staff to cover the cost of car parking. These cover a set period of time, for example 7 to 14 days, and can be renewed when needed. The financial value of the exemptions range from £550 to £700 a month of validated parking.

4. The Trust does not maintain a register of all parking permits issued. This information is therefore not held by the Trust and not available under the terms of the Act.

5. Staff working within the Cancer Services Team and on the Cancer wards are aware of the parking arrangements and available concessions and are actively encouraged to share this information with those who may benefit.

6. Patient car parks are managed and owned by the Trust across all Trust sites.

7. Section 12 provision [cost limit] of the FOIA is applicable.

We can however advise that no parking complaints were received concerning the Sussex Cancer Centre in Brighton since 2017, which is one of the main sites were young people with cancer are likely to be treated. We can also confirm that no parking complaints were received regarding parking for paediatric patients at either St Richard’s Hospital, Chichester or Worthing Hospital, Worthing since 2017.

8. The following additional support may be available to patients depending on their circumstances and the type of assistance required:

• Young adults 19-25 in Worthing are able to park in MacMillan’s Horizon Centre car park when receiving treatment in Worthing.
• Patients and carers can request patient transport to travel to and from the hospital if required.
• Patients and carers who are on certain benefits may be able to reclaim travel costs through the cashiers office.
• All patients are offered a referral to Young Lives vs Cancer who will discuss any other financial support available to them on a case by case basis.

8a. Staff working within the Cancer Services Team and on the Cancer wards are aware of the available support and will discuss with parents and carers as appropriate.

8b. This will vary depending on the type of support required and staff will discuss with patients and carers when advising the support that is available.

8c. This will vary depending on the type of support required. Car parking and patient transport are free at the point of use whilst other transport costs will need to be reclaimed through the hospital cashiers.

8d. This will vary depending on the type of support required. Some of these are provided on a case by case basis at  the Cancer Service team/wards discretion whilst others may depend on any other benefits the patient or carer is receiving.