"Secret deal to keep hospital parking charges high"

[dutchman]

Bosses at Coventry University Hospital signed a secret deal to renew their ‘‘extortionate’’ parking charges last summer.



It means patients, visitors and staff are likely to face another seven years of high charges at the hospital’s parking pay stations.

Hospital chiefs voted to renew their contract with private firm ISS in July – a whole year ahead of schedule.

Just weeks earlier they told campaigners they could renegotiate the parking deal during 2011 and promised to carefully consider their views.

They only admitted they had already taken the controversial decision behind closed doors after a two month investigation by the Telegraph.

The news was greeted with anger by city MP Geoffrey Robinson, who had repeatedly questioned the old parking contract.

He said: “I can’t understand for a second how the hospital thought they could secretly sign a new car parking contract without the public finding out.

“It’s a disgraceful and shameful way to act.”

Every year the car parks at Walsgrave squeeze £2.7 million out of patients, visitors and staff – which goes to private firms rather than funding hospital care.

The hospital is obliged to cover any shortfall in parking profits from its budget.

A year ago the simmering anger errupted into a campaign against the so-called “parking robbery”.

More than 4,700 people joined via social networking website Facebook and another 3,000 signed a petition.

Campaigners sent former hospital CEO Malcolm Stamp so many emails his computer crashed.

As the pressure mounted bosses placated the protestors by promising to carefully consider their views when the opportunity arose to renegotiate its deal with car park contractors ISS in June 2011.

But when the Telegraph asked University Hospital to confirm that date in December it began to backtrack.

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[rebbonk]

This amounts to a tax on being sick.

If you know the area, there are places to park if you are able to walk a little.