The Government procrastinates again

A mix of good and bad news from Gordon the Gopher's left hand man. The story below should be good news. On the surface of it, Mr Burnham has stated that Hospital Car Parking charges should end. This is a cause to celebrate. The flip side of this is that behind the headline grabbing story, nothing has changed now. The consultation that he's proposing will not be over until after, or at, the time of the next election, so any legislation that would follow, is actually doubtful given a potential change in government. The cynic in me says that this is a last throw of the dice to garner some pre-election support.

The reality is, that if the true desire was there, certain charges could be abolished very quickly, and further measures could be taken later, if deemed necessary. Oncology patients, in-patients, paediatric patients, seem easy groups to decide on to waive any charges. But as any patient or carer will tell you, there are other costs that need to be considered too. But I guess this would be a start. So far the Government is all talk, and no action. A little similar to my last entry on 084 telephone numbers where much is promised, but not yet delivered.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8433395.stm