Private firms exploit NHS

Why? Because we should put a stop to the misery of having to be forced to pay out, like last year, £62,000 a day to save lives or see sick loved ones.

Equally, let’s get tough with private firms who control meters in and outside our hospital. We could start by telling them to stick it where the sun doesn’t shine.

Call on local MPs to tell the government that the NHS should come from general taxation (it would be much cheaper than paying private firms) like Wales and Scotland, where immoral charges are abolished.

The NHS trust in Shropshire makes almost £2 million in car parking charges, that’s peanuts to what private firms get.

The figures released for the first time by NHS Digital shows only £30 million went towards the NHS. The income from charges and fines in England was £226 million, just 15 per cent went back into the health service, staff paid nearly £70 million in 2017/18 to park, while the sick and their families were ripped off by almost £157 million.

To put all that into perspective, the sum works out to 0.0003 per cent of spending for England of £125 billion in 2017/18, enough to keep the health service going for one minute and 23 seconds. Wow.

Nurses who work in Colchester General Hospital will find the price of staff parking permits will almost treble from January, they would be better moving to Wales or Scotland where there are no charges. No wonder staff feel exploited.

It’s time we stopped firms exploiting those who save lives.

Ron Jowett, Shifnal

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