Closer to the end of hospital parking charges?
Burnham: It won't happen overnight
The Royal College of Midwives is the professional association and trade union representing 95 per cent of all the UK’s practising midwives. |  |
Find more Opinion Formers in this category:
A 14-year-old girl died yesterday shortly after receiving a vaccination against cervical cancer. |  |
With his career on the line, a grimly determined Gordon Brown has sent British politics spiralling in freefall towards fundamental - and ancient - faultlines. |  |
Wednesday, 30, Sep 2009 12:00
By Ian Dunt
Andy Burnham has promised an end to hospital parking charges within three years, in his speech to the Labour party conference in Brighton.
The health secretary used his keynote speech to defend the party's record on the NHS and question whether the Conservatives could be trusted with the institution.
"We can't do it overnight. But over the next three years, as we can afford it, I want to phase out car parking charges for in-patients, giving each a permit for the length of their stay which family and friends can use," he said.
Mr Burnham also told delegates he would link hospital funding to quality and patient satisfaction rates.
In a relatively well-received speech, the health secretary poured scorn on Daniel Hannan, the Tory MEP who appeared on American news networks to deride the NHS as a 60-year mistake.
The comments provoked a mass Twitter campaign, where tens of thousands of internet users proclaimed their love for the health service.
Just before Mr Burnham appeared on stage a Labour delegate told the conference hall Mr Hannan should be tried for treason, to loud cheers from the audience.