HOSPITAL CAR PARKING CHARGES AND PREMATURE BABIES

That this House notes that the Government published guidance on hospital car parking in August 2014 suggesting concessions should be available for visitors to relatives who have an extended stay in hospital; is disappointed that 49 per cent of trusts with a neonatal care unit have increased their hourly or weekly parking rate in the last three years; acknowledges recent research by Bliss, the charity for parents of babies in neonatal care, which found that a third of trusts with neonatal care units where parents could park for free in 2013 have introduced parking charges; recognises that it is crucial that parents are able to care for their child through skin-to-skin contact, breastfeeding and comfort holding; further notes that parents may be charged up to £4 to park for an hour at hospital to provide this vital care; and urges the Government to abolish parking charges for parents of babies in neonatal care units.