Report on DHB's Charging Millions for Patients to Park

Research by the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union reveals that District Health Boards have raked in more than $44 million in parking charges at New Zealand’s public hospitals in the last three years alone. Information compiled from Official Information Act requests is included in a briefing paper released today. It shows that of the twenty DHBs, seven (Northland, Hutt Valley, Mid-Central, Capital & Coast, Auckland, Waitemata and Waikato) charge patients for parking at one or more of their hospitals. Taxpayers’ Union Executive Director, Jordan Williams, says:

“Taxpayers have already paid for the construction of the hospital and the car park. Why must they pay twice when they are unfortunate enough to have to make use of the facilities? Talk about kicking someone when they are down.”

"Parking taxes at hospitals punish those who are ill and may well be on benefits. The last thing that a patient should have to worry about if they are attending for treatment is whether there is going to be a penalty notice waiting for them when they return to their vehicle. Often patients won’t know how long their treatment will last and therefore how much to put in the meter."

"While modest charges may make sense in large city hospitals where good public transport is available, we think for places like Northland, where patients often travel considerable distances, hospital parking fees are a nasty revenue gathering tool which should be abolished."

“When New Zealanders are ill or suffering from a family emergency, the last thing they should have to worry about is whether or not they have enough spare change for the DHB's car park.”

Click here to view the Briefing Paper.

ENDS

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