Clean Air Zone
Our Bristol city centre hospitals are within a Clean Air Zone
which has been introduced by Bristol City Council to tackle harmful
pollution from vehicles.
No vehicles are banned from entering the zone, but older and
more polluting vehicles have to pay a daily charge. Most vehicles
already meet the zone's emission standards and will not be charged.
If you are travelling to one of our Bristol city centre hospitals,
it is important you check if you need to pay the Clean Air Zone
charge. You can find out more about the Clean Air Zone on
the Bristol City Council
website.
Check if your vehicle will be charged
Use the government's vehicle checker to find out if you will be
charged www.gov.uk/clean-air-zones
Changes to hospital exemptions from Saturday 1 April
2023
If the vehicle you are travelling in does not meet the Clean Air
Zone (CAZ) standards and you are coming to one of our city centre
hospital sites, there are exemptions for some hospital patients and
visitors. These include:
- Regular outpatients - If you have to come to one of our city
centre hospitals for a minimum of three or more appointments a
month in a three-month period.
- Visitors of long stay inpatients will continue to be able to
request a 7-day exemption if their vehicle does not meet the zone's
emissions standards.
In addition, for a three-month trial period, exemptions are also
available for:
- People who are eligible for support under the NHS Healthcare Travel
Costs Scheme (HTCS)
- People attending the emergency departments at either Bristol
Royal Infirmary, Bristol Royal Hospital for Children or Bristol Eye
Hospital.
- People attending hospital to receive cancer treatment.
- People attending hospital to receive end-of-life care.
If you are eligible for an
exemption, a separate request must be made for each appointment you
attend. Exemption requests only cover the day of the appointment,
not the whole three-month trial period.
All other patients attending our Bristol city centre hospitals,
whose vehicles do not meet the Clean Air Zone standards, will have
to pay the charge from Saturday 1 April 2023.
Please make sure you have checked if your vehicle will be
charged using the government's online vehicle
checker.
How do I apply for a hospital exemption?
Please be aware the touch-screens previously located in our
waiting areas for hospital exemption requests, are no longer
available. The screens have been replaced with the online
exemption request form and phone line: 0117 342 6364
(Monday to Friday, 8am to 4pm). If you are eligible for an exemption, a
separate request must be made for each appointment you attend.
Exemption requests only cover the day of the appointment, not the
whole three-month trial period.
Please see the sections below for further details.
Patients
If you meet one of the above criteria, please complete the
patient and visitor exemption request form or call 0117
342 6364 (Monday to Friday, 8am to 4pm) to request a CAZ exemption
at least three working days before your appointment. You will need
to know the make, model and registration number of the vehicle you
are travelling in. Please be aware the CAZ charge runs
midnight to midnight, visits that go beyond midnight will need to
be registered twice.
Patients attending our emergency
departments
You can apply for a CAZ exemption via this online
form or call 0117 342 6364 (Monday to Friday, 8am to 4pm),
on the day of your visit or, up to four days after attending one of
our emergency departments in the city centre of Bristol. Please be
aware the CAZ charge runs midnight to midnight, visits that go
beyond midnight will need to be registered twice. You will need to
know the make, model and registration number of the vehicle you are
travelling in.
End-of-life care
You or your carer can complete the online
form or call 0117 342 6364 (Monday to Friday, 8am to 4pm).
However, if you need support requesting the exemption, please speak
to a member of staff. For visitors of end of life patients who need
a CAZ exemption, please see the visitor of inpatients information
below.
Visitors of inpatients
Visitors of inpatients can request an exemption if they need one
by completing the online
form. The discounted parking rate for visitors will also be
applied. Discounted parking and CAZ exemptions are available for up
to two visitor vehicles per patient. This is available for up to
seven days at a time for the duration of the inpatient stay.
Further information
If you would like more information about the hospital
exemptions, please contact: CAZsupport@uhbw.nhs.uk
If you would like more information on the Clean Air
Zone, please visit the Bristol City
Council website.