Diesel

Today charges for parking in Hospitals are abolished in Wales...

This is a common sense move that defies the usual disparaging and grabby council and politician behaviour towards the citizen. It is phenomenaly good news for cancer patients and patients on dialysis who visit several times a week (and me when I took my lad in for seemingly necking a bottle of Calpol the other day and then pathetically worrying about clamping due to my lack of loose change as he awaited emergency treatment). It's just so nice to see the Welsh Assembly treat its sick and its citizens with a bit more respect, rather than just viewing them with a beady detached eye on their wallets.

Also, in the same country prescriptions are free; however prescriptions are now increased to £7.10 per item in England.

I dont actually mind paying a couple of quid for an antibiotioc or something on my rare visits to the doctor, but to lever it up to £7+ PER ITEM in England is again another symptom of taking as much as they possibly can from us that have already paid income tax/vat/stamp duty/NI/fuel tax/ on what we earnt.

Balance needs to swing a bit the other way my lovely English friends!? N'cest pas?

D

GC8

We are paying for it though.....

Diesel

I'm kinda making that point Although you do get free essence of life from us - H2 Eau! - and to block me in behind caravans/mobile homes doing 35 mph when I AM IN A RUSH!!!!

d

zip106

And Scotland has reduced prescription charges to £5 from today, with a view to scrapping the charge altogether.

Oh, if only devolution would come to us all.

Scoobychick

iTrader: (1)

Maybe all us English folk should move to Wales?

I bought myself a years pre-payment certificate before the charges went up so am at least paying a lot less than £7.10 per item

Dan W

Couple of points here - Any English who want to move here, come on over I lived in Colchester, Oxford and Uxbridge during the late nineties and not once was i made to feel unwelcome by any Egglish folk so I welcome you anytime. Plus there's plenty of sheep to go around.

Joking aside - I truly believe it an injustice that we get free prescriptions and you do not. Plus I think that en-masse the whole of England should simply refuse to pay to park at hospitals.

I work at more than one hospital; a few of my colleagues and I simply refused to pay the charge. Nothing was said or done about it.

I know what I am about to say is controversial but I do not think that devolution has benefited Great Britain, only parts of it. And it obvious to all which parts they are. I Think we are too small an island for infighting especially given other countries long term agendas.

I think i'll stop now.

Scoobychick

iTrader: (1)

Dan, I'd happily live in Wales, it's a beautiful country and handy if you like rallying

Bearing in mind how many pills I'm taking to keep me alive the cost of living would be a lot cheaper too

TopBanana

My wife has 1% of her salary docked for car parking! It's 1% for everyone who works there. I think it's scandalous.

JimmyBFC

lol...yep, ours goes up, and the Jocks goes down, now it looks like were funding every buggers.

Bloody Britain, each member of the UK should fund themselves IMO, my tax should get spent in England, nowhere else, and b4 someone chimes in, it does get like everyone elses go to Wales, N.Ireland and Scotland too.

Dan W

Aye, agree it is a beautiful place but I think the whole of Britain is too. It belongs to all of us don't forget.

Its just a shame there's rules for some but not others depending on which part you live.

Diesel

To be fair I think the whole nationality thing is a bit of a (provocative) red herring. It's more about the attitudes of those that govern us.

It seems to me that those in charge in England are more willing to make their fellow citizens life harder. They seem more prepared to defend the indefensible in my view, and just dig their heels in. Devolution (and I'm all for it for England too) seems to reduce that detachment and I have seen how it makes 'em listen to the people more on issues of common sense & fair play.

D

Leslie

I agree completely with what you say about devolution. It was done under the old maxim to divide and conquer. It is a very big mistake for all of us in GB to abandon the Union and in the end none of us will be better off.

I also agree with Diesel's comments. They are anxious to stick us for cash in any way possible and to hell with those who have to suffer needlessly in the process. Can't believe that employees have to pay to park at their place of work either!

What can you expect however from a prat who having been told officially that immigration is damaging this country and its infrastructure now says that he intends to encourage further immigration against everybody's will!

How much we need an election!

Les

Spoon

Up our prescription and parking prices further I say then maybe people will move in droves to Wales.

Sorted.

Dracoro

Is that so bad?

Lets say, for arguments sake, she's on £24k
1% (assuming it's off gross rather than net) is £240
That's £20 a month, approx £5 a week, that's £1 a day for parking!! OK, rather not pay anything but a £1 a day is hardly "scandalous"

Diesel

Oi! Dont want floods of immigrants here with dodgy tickers and too many motors

D

pwhittle

Don't try bamboozle us with your weird Welsh lingo...

Spoon

Then you need to rethink your 1st post advert for all to see or change career paths to tourism and ask to go on a pay per new habitant basis.

TopBanana

It's more like £7 a day. The point is that she has no choice but to park there, so it's a bit rich to dock her salary. They'll be charging to use the bogs next.

Leslie

She must be on a heck of a good salary if she is paying 1% in parking fees!

Les

Dracoro

£7 a day!!

£35 a week?

£140 a month?

£1,500 a year? (assuming some holiday time)

If £1,500 is 1% then she must be earning £150,000!! Don't expect too much sympathy, although one would say it should be £1 a day for everyone maybe but that'd be nothing for her but a lot for a cleaner. Ideally hospital staff should pay nothing (as should visitors) but that opens it up to abuse. Just as importantly, what does the revenue pay for?

Dan W

Your right. Its almost like a tax at source, paying for parking. It was like that here. Its morally wrong in my view.

TopBanana

Your sums are based on incorrect assumptions, but that's neither here nor there. To make myself clear, my objection is to docking salary for a compulsory 'service'.

I don't think hospital staff would abuse the parking. It's shouldn't be beyond the wit of mean to design a parking system which gave patients free parking either.

I think the revenue just goes into the Trust's pot.