Hospital parking

Good to know before parking at a hospital

United Kingdom: Wales and Scotland

In Wales, every NHS hospital site has offered free parking to patients, staff and visitors since 1 April 2008. According to Welsh Government guidance, the last exceptions, tied to external contracts, ended in 2018. Scotland took a similar path: charges at NHS car parks had already been abolished, and in 2021 the Scottish Government announced that hospital parking charges would end for good after agreeing to buy out the PFI car parks in Glasgow and Dundee.

England: free for those in greatest need

Charging is still allowed in England, but guidance from the Department of Health and Social Care makes free parking mandatory for four groups. Blue Badge holders park free for the whole visit, whether they come as patients or as visitors. Outpatients qualify if they attend at least 3 times in a month over a period of at least 3 months. The parent or guardian of a child under 18 kept in overnight parks free between 19:30 and 8:00, for up to 2 vehicles. Staff on night shifts are the fourth group. The same guidance asks trusts to offer reductions or caps to relatives of gravely ill patients and to visitors during long stays. Before paying, ask at reception how this is applied.

Spain: concession car parks

At large Spanish public hospitals the car park is usually run by a concession company that sets its own prices. Our guide to hospital parking in Spain reviews Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and Sevilla one hospital at a time, including the passes for long stays.

Netherlands: each hospital publishes its own rate

Each Dutch hospital sets its own prices, and the useful detail is often the discount for long visits. UMC Utrecht charges €3.00 an hour, capped at €18.00 a day, and sells a €30 weekly pass that opens the barrier by reading your number plate. At LUMC in Leiden, patients and companions staying longer than 3 hours can ask for a card that limits the day to €8.40 at most. Erasmus MC in Rotterdam sells a 14 day card for €45 to anyone visiting an admitted patient.

Italy and New York

In Firenze, the municipal parking regulations set a reduced rate of €0.50 an hour on a list of streets around Careggi hospital. In Napoli, the ANM car park at Policlinico metro station opens Monday to Friday from 7:00 to 20:00 and on Saturday from 7:00 to 13:30; ANM also manages 36 free street spaces for pregnant women. In New York you pay: the Mount Sinai Hospital garage, entered from 99th Street, is open 24 hours and can be booked online.

Dropping a patient at the door

Find the drop off point before looking for a space. At UMC Utrecht, the main entrance has an area for dropping off and collecting patients, and holders of a disabled parking card may stay there for 1 hour at most.

Sources:Welsh Government, Car parking management guidance for NHS Wales, Scottish Government, Hospital PFI car parks in Glasgow and Dundee bought out, Department of Health and Social Care, NHS car parking guidance, UMC Utrecht, Parking at UMC Utrecht, LUMC, Parkeren, Erasmus MC, Kortingsregelingen, Comune di Firenze, Disciplinare sosta ZCS 2025, ANM Napoli, Carta della mobilità, Mount Sinai Health System, Mount Sinai Hospital parking. Information checked in October 2026.