Hospitals rack up record profits from carparking charges despite government push for fairer fees

NINE of Melbourne’s biggest health services are raking in huge car parking profits by slugging sick Victorians and their families up to $35 a day, a Herald Sun probe finds. See which hospitals are raking in the most.

MELBOURNE’S hospitals are gouging record multi-million-dollar profits from patients and their families with parking fees as high as $35 a day.

A Herald Sun analysis has found nine of the city’s biggest health services raked in a combined $45.4 million profit from paid carparking last year.

Combined profits for those hospitals — including The Alfred, St Vincent’s and the Royal Melbourne — have surged almost 25 per cent since 2015, when the state government ordered them to offer “fairer” fees.

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While hospitals have since moved to offer a range of discounted rates, the latest figures show carparking revenue has continued to increase across the board, with the Royal Women’s Hospital the only major hospital to see its parking profits decline.

Austin Health recorded $11.5 million in carparking revenue last year and spent $2.9 million on costs, netting an $8.6 million profit.

The daily maximum parking rate is $30, but the Austin charges $3 for patients who visit multiple times a week for an extended period.

A spokesman for Health Minister Jill Hennessy said the government had forced hospitals to publish their carparking policies, which had led to “numerous discounts” being offered to support “vulnerable patients and their families”.

The Alfred hospital car park.

“We know that going to the hospital can be extremely distressing and the last thing we want is for patients and their family and friends forced to pay exorbitant carparking fees,” the spokesman said.

But Opposition health spokeswoman Mary Wooldridge said the government had failed to “relieve the growing pressure on household budgets” despite promising to tackle hospital carparking fees.

“Victorians should not have to cut short treatments or be unable to see a loved one in hospital because they cannot afford the massive slug from carparking fees,” Ms Wooldridge said.

Several hospitals have been locked into long-term deals to pay off government loans through carparking revenue.

The millions of dollars spent by hospitals on carpark operating costs mostly goes into the hands of private operators, while the health services argue that the revenue is ­usually reinvested in facilities and patient care.

The Royal Children’s Hospital has typically topped the list for total carparking revenue, raking in $10.3 million in 2017. Its 2018 annual report will not be released until next month.

Victorian Council of Social Service chief executive Emma King said hospitals needed to work with the government to fix the parking rort.

“Hospitals shouldn’t be collecting buckets of cash from people visiting sick or dying family members,” she said.

“That’s a tax on illness, and a tax on companionship for those with health issues.

“If hospitals feel their only option is to gouge families to pay the bills, that points to broader issues in health funding.”

“The other missing link here is public transport. Our hospitals should be public transport hubs.

We should be making it easier, not harder, for people to visit their loved ones in hospital.”

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