Werribee Mercy Hospital and other public hospitals across the state will be required to review and publicise their carparking fees in a bid to reduce the burden on regular patients.
An independent analysis commissioned by the state government has found Victorian hospitals charge different carparking rates.
It also found that despite some hospitals providing discounts for regular patients, visitors and carers, the concessions were not always promoted.
The government has ordered all public hospitals to have a formal carparking policy in place by February 1 next year and to have all details of charges and concessions clearly placed at carpark entrances, payment stations and inside hospitals.
The carparking changes come as a Cancer Council Victoria report into parking at cancer centres found patients were spending about $1100 a year on parking fees while receiving treatment.
Health Minister Jill Hennessy said hospitals would be required to review their carparking policies annually to ensure appropriate concessions were provided to vulnerable patients.
“Having to go to hospital regularly can be distressing enough, both as a patient and a visitor, without having to worry about how much it will cost to park,” Ms Hennessy said.
Mercy Health chief executive of health services Linda Mellors said Werribee Mercy Hospital brought in about $600,000 in carparking fees in the 2014-15 financial year “after allowing for security expenses and depreciation costs for carpark equipment”.
The hospital charges patients and visitors a flat daily rate of $5; for staff, it’s $4.
“Free parking is granted in special circumstances; for example, for palliative-care patients and their families, or patients coming in several times a week for renal dialysis,” Dr Mellors said.
