Wales abolished hospital car parking charges in April, ahead of the Scottish Government whose decision comes in to effect from January 1.

However, hospitals where car parking was created under the private finance initiative were excluded from the banning order. And this leaves constituent’s of Dundee East’s Minister Shona Robison and her Dundee West SNP colleague MSP Joe FitzPatrick having to fork out.

But in Cardiff prices have been frozen at 2007 levels and a scheduled inflation linked rise stopped, unlike today’s 10p hike at Ninewells.

The British Medical Association in Wales lobbied for abolition of parking charges, viewed as a tax on the sick.

A spokesman said today that a price freeze at the PFI hospitals was the best deal achievable.

“In University Hospital Wales they have a multi-storey car park built by the private company,” said the spokesman, outlining what is a similar situation to Ninewells.

He explained that in return for providing the car park, the firm has a contractual agreement to collect parking charges, reviewed regularly under a formula linked to inflation, as is the same here.

“What they have done this year is not raise the cost of parking.

“I suspect that is the best we are going to get for now. It (the hospital trust) is working towards free parking spaces in the long term.”

It is understood that the Welsh hospital trust will have to recompense Vinci Park for the lost revenue due to the freeze.

The BMA in Scotland also wants to see hospital parking charges removed across the country, including the PFI hospitals.

“It is not acceptable that patients who are attending a hospital that happens to be PFI should have to pay parking charges and we would like to see some kind of solution to that,” said a BMA Scotland spokeswoman.

“Obviously the NHS is tied in to these long term contracts. We are aware there are contractual obligations (health) boards are signed up to, but there is always room for discussions.

“This is not about business. This is about patients and their relatives having to pay, in some cases vast amounts of money, to go and visit their relatives and loved ones in hospital.

“There needs to be some flexibility and discussion on the part of the PFI providers.”

The Scottish Government ordered NHS Tayside to look into terminating its contract with the private firm and called for a report on options to be delivered to it by the end of November. NHS Tayside is currently preparing that report, but said last week that Vinci Park had not responded to formal requests for a meeting.

Previously Dundee East MSP and public health minister Shona Robison said the cost of buying out the contract would be prohibitive and Ninewells patients, visitors and staff faced 20 years of charging.

Vinci Park has consistently refused to comment on parking at Ninewells.