Hospital - exempt from car parking fees?

[tali1]

My mom's local hospital appointment letter says those on benefits are exempt from car parking fees (ie they get it refunded on proof of benefit)
Is this particualr to a hospital or the Trust or is it across the NHS?
Semmed to have kept it v quiet and i can't find anything online either

[ABerrant]

Is this part of the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme?

http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/Healthcosts/Pages /Travelcosts.aspx

Car parking fees are not standardised across the NHS - Wales and Scotland have scrapped the charges at hospitals where parking is not controlled by private companies and those with an outside contract are allowing contracts to lapse...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-110340 2/NHS-apartheid-row-Scotland-scraps-hospital-p arking-fees--charges-English-patients-soar.htm l

[Coobeastie]

Believe that many hospitals operate similar schemes and will often provide free parking (via permits) to those who are having to attend on a regular basis.

Not sure how else they would advertise this except as they have done on appointment forms.

Its normally the charging that makes the headlines though forgetting that if the car parks were free to all then they'd be filled with people using the parking facilities to go to work/shop.