Monmouth MP David Davies has welcomed the news that the GP surgery at Chepstow Hospital is to be made exempt from controversial new car parking charges.
Staff and visitor car parking charges have been introduced at five hospital sites across Gwent where parking used to be free, including Chepstow and Maindiff Court Hospital in Abergavenny.
Mr Davies had previously been told by Martin Turner, Chief Executive of Gwent Healthcare NHS Trust, that there were also plans to levy charges at the GP surgery at Chepstow. While Mr Turner said the Trust was in discussion with the practice about a practical way forward to work out how best to differentiate between GP and hospital patients, Mr Davies called for the surgery to be made exempt from any charges.
He has since received a further letter stating that the Trust will now be introducing a dedicated free parking area for GP patients.
“With a deficit of £43m, I appreciate the Trust is under pressure to make savings but I do not consider money-making ideas such as car parking changes to be acceptable,” said Mr Davies.
“Patients should be able to park for free to see their doctor, especially in an area when public transport links are poor, and several elderly constituents had contacted me to express their concern about these proposals, as even a short visit to collect a prescription or provide a blood sample would have incurred a parking fee of £1.50.
“I wrote back to the Chief Executive, urging him to ensure the GP surgery is exempt from such charges, and I am delighted that an arrangement has been made between the Trust and the practice so that patients’ pockets are not affected.”