CONTROVERSIAL parking charges at the Worcestershire Royal Hospital will be among those scrapped if Labour wins the General Election, writes Rob George.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn made the pledge during a visit to Worcester on Monday (May 8) which saw him meet student nurses at the University of Worcester and address crowds on the city’s High Street.
Mr Corbyn pledged to follow in the footsteps of the Welsh Labour Government in scrapping the charges and said the policy would cost £162million.
The axe on parking charges would be funded by a rise in premiums on private health insurance but would mean free parking for patients, visitors and staff.
“The nurses I met said it would be brilliant for them as they have had their pay frozen for several years,” he said.
“They feel it’s quite wrong they have to pay for parking because they need their cars because of the anti social hours they work.
Motorists face a charge of £3.70 for up to a two hour stay at the Royal which rises to £7.50 for stays of a day or more.
When asked whether the cost of the scheme amounted to a stealth tax, Mr Corbyn fiercely defended the move.
“It will raise the insurance premium from 12 to 20 per cent, we think it’s reasonable to do that as it’s mostly paid by employers for private health insurance for their staff,” he said.
“It’s about ensuring the tax havens some people are very keen on cough up the same as the rest of us, we have one of the most unequal societies in Europe.
“It’s a bit sad when you are talking to someone who needs your time in the hospital and you are looking at your watch and thinking ‘I’ve got to go and move the car’.
“It’s not expensive but it’s something we feel we should do,” he added.
During his visit, Mr Corbyn also spoke to nurses about bringing back student grants which have been scrapped by the Tories.
“It was very interesting talking to student nurses, they all have a passion for nursing and because they can get bursaries they can do that.
“If someone else now wants to go into nursing, unless they have a partner with a good income, they couldn’t do it because of the lack of bursaries,” he added.
The Labour leader also revealed his desire to come to Worcester in the early part of the campaign
“I’ve done nearly 30 campaign events so far and the vast majority have been in Conservative held areas,” he said.
“We have got to get the message out there for the whole country because that is what an election is about.
Labour’s candidate Coun Joy Squires said the charges were welcome and said many didn’t leave hospital during the 30 minutes free period.
“It really racks up especially if you are waiting to see your consultant and I think this will be so welcome in Worcester,” she added.
The Labour leader also pledged to halt the revamp of healthcare in the county if Labour won the upcoming General Election.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn made the pledge to halt the Sustainability and Transformation Plan which has been implemented across the county, including in Worcestershire.
Ahead of the formal launch of the party’s General Election campaign yesterday (Tuesday), Mr Corbyn visited Worcester on Monday (May 8) to lend his support to the party’s candidate Coun Joy Squires.
The Labour leader joined Coun Squires on a visit to the University of Worcester where he spoke to student nurses about Labour’s commitment to reinstating adequate funds for training.
He took time to listen to their stories and how removal of student bursaries was causing hardship and stress and how the bursary was a decisive factor in attracting mature students into the profession.
Mr Corbyn also shared with the students a tale of his aunt, a former matron and one of the first NHS nurses.
“I am totally passionate about the National Health Service, my auntie qualified straight after the NHS was established,” he told them.
“Whisper it quietly she was a matron but she was so proud of the NHS.
“I’ve never forgotten going to visit her as a little boy in her hospital in her uniform, I was ever so frightened of her!,” he added.
After meeting representatives from the Students Union and Sophie Carrigill, Women’s co-captain of British Wheelchair Basketball, Mr Corbyn then headed into the heart of Worcester for a speech on the High Street outside the Guildhall.
“I’m very proud of the Labour pledge that every child in every school will get a free school meal everyday they are in school,” he told the crowd.
“That way all of our children are properly fed and doing something together which is so important to break down barriers.
“We should look to a society where everyone can achieve the best for themselves, where they aren’t held back by the postcode they were born or the poverty they grew up in. We can do better as a country.
“We have one month until the General Election, Britain doesn’t have to be a country of foodbanks, of homelessness, of children wondering what the future holds for them or people wracked with debt because they went to university.”
“Think differently, of the kind of society we can be. Where we aren’t afraid to invest in good infrastructure, in industries and jobs of the future, we aren’t afraid to say inequality is wrong.
“We’re unleashing the talent that is in all of us, we want to create a society and a community for the many not the few,” he added.
