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Nuneaton NewsNuneaton public "not fooled by Labour's lies"(January 24, 2010) There has been huge support for the campaign against rip-off parking charges at George Eliot Hospital in Nuneaton over the last two Saturdays. Nuneaton people are angry that they increasingly have to travel to Walsgrave Hospital in Coventry for treatment as more departments at the Eliot are closed down - the latest plan is to make children travel to Coventry with the George Eliot only keeping under 16s for a maximum stay of 24 hours. The parking charges are even worse in Coventry and under the PFI scam there nearly £3m a year goes to a private company and its shareholders from exorbitant parking charges.
People signing the petition in Nuneaton have not been fooled by some local new Labour politicians' claims that they will scrap parking charges at hospitals. As one person explained "There won't be a penny more from central government for the NHS and the George Eliot have already stated (at last week's consultation meeting on parking charges) that any resulting shortfall from parking will have to be made up through efficiency savings".
This of course will mean more cuts, less nurses and a poorer facility for Nuneaton people. The George Eliot currently gets £900,000 a year from parking (£300,000 from its own staff!). If New Labour brings in free parking without extra funding going to the NHS, this will amount to a 1% cut in the George Eliot’s budget - as the Financial Director at the consultation meeting said last, that equates to the cost of running a whole ward for a year. People coming to our stall agreed with us, there should be no rip-off parking charges at hospitals and the NHS should be fully funded and completely free to use. PFI - like at Walsgrave in Coventry - should be scrapped, get the profiteers out of our health service! No profit from Illness! |