I had to go to my local hospital in the early ours of last Friday morning. I arrived at roughly am and left at
In that time I was charged 4 quid to park. 4 quid when there was hardly a car in the car park at that time in the morning.
How on earth can they justify charges that high? It is NOT a private hospital but an NHS one, one that has a A and E too.
The only people who go there are the sick, or people visiting the sick, or people taking sick people there. So it is a tax on the sick.
I do not mind a token amount to park but 2 quid for the first hour, and a quid for EVERY hour after that up to a maximum of ten quid, is greed personified.
Why are even hospitals jumping on the gravy train of greed? It is also a tax on the poor as I am sure there are many people who use that hospital, who are on genuine benefits. Day patient appointments for all sorts of illnesses, are not exempt from these greedy people who decide what the charges will be.
A patient on invalidity benefit for many genuine reasons, could be there as a day patient for five hours, and be charged six quid.
Greed even in hospitals...............2010 style.
Most hospital car parks are NPC so its not the hospital thats greedy. I agree with you, parking charges are unacceptably high.
here our hosital is in Hull so anyone from the south bank of the Humber also have the bridge toll of EACH WAY to fork out for too! It makes hospital VERY expensive indeed.
Our last experience of hospital car parking thankfully is now some years distant.
Our memory was that out of hours there was no charge and for visitors to long term or terminal/intensive/long term care patients there were concessions authorised by the ward sister. I can't now recall the detail but it did seem fair at the time particularly as the hospital was in a seaside town and was "abused" by all-comers. I do recall some occasions though where we used a taxi to get to the hospital....
No hospital parking fees in Scotland or Wales I think.
No University tution fees in Scotland.
Hey Alex Salmond, hurry up and get an independant Scotland then us in the far Northern Counties of England who are going to be screwed the most by the Condems can vote to leave England and join Scotland !!
John & Shel
To all you people who think hospital car parking charges are wrong, which hospital department do you think should lose out and pay for them for you? The children's ward? Geriatric care? A&E? CVA rehab?
Because that's basically the long and veiny of it. Those hospitals that charge are clawing back the original cost of the building of the car park, for yea verily - t'is them that have to pay for it. They're also paying for maintenance, lighting, and cctv surveillance. Any extra funds go towards non-NHS paid for services like non-denominational quiet rooms, toys for the childrens wards, bariatric wheel chairs, outside landscaping, benches and many other extra local services - walk-in centres, outreach centres etc.
Those people who get free hospital parking are lucky - sort of. The hospital still has to pay for the above things for their car parks and guess where the money comes from?? Yup! Patient services. If your parking is free, your health services are not as good.
Who here always has a pudding after lunch and dinner? Hospitals offer puddings. Perhaps if we take away the puddings then the parking could be free. But then the pudding nazis would complain. It's a tough world, but your nhs treatment is essentially free at source - should the nhs really pay for your car parking as well? How about a free valetting service while we're at it? Gold plated crutches perhaps?
If you don't like paying to park your car at a hospital - get the bus. Or don't go, get sicker and die - problem solved.
There are pudding nazis??? Bloody hell! :eeek:
With the hospitals now being part of trust's this is where they are pressurised to try & show some returns for the cash they receive, we have family that work for the NHS at a hospital that have to pay a £5 a day parkin charge so it's not just the sick or familys being hit
They even charge their staff???? :eeek: Are you serious? Bloody hell!
Ah I suppose its no different to anyone else having to pay for parking in town centres. It seems a bit crap that an employer would benefit directly from those parking charges though. Give it to you in one hand and take it back with the other.
Hospital where I live is only a few years old and yet there is a high level of lack of parking, if you have an appointment there you need to arrive at least 2 hours early just to queue for a space, theres even not enough parking for staff as well.
There are regular buses from town every 15 minutes and even through I have to get a bus into town and then one to hospital it only takes 30 minutes in total and costs return.
The car parks might be run by NCP but the local council has the right to what the charges are and recently our council took a vote as to whether or not to scrap the charges but as you can guess that didnt go through.
What does bug me is that if you have to stay in hospitals you have to pay for tv at per day and phones somethings like 49p per minute for a call, what a rip off.
Over last few years I've spent alot of time in hospital and had a dongle but was told I couldnt use it in the hospital on my laptop as my laptop hadnt been tested by their eletricians and certifed safe. And when using my mobile phone was given a right ear full by staff but if you read all the reports on the internet it doesnt interferrer with equipment, and one hospital in Surrey allows the use of mobile phones on wards. When I asked to go outside the hospital to make the call I was told I couldnt go out, more like a prison than a hospital.
Here in Scunny you have to pay to park in the hospital even if you have a blue badge!!
My mum has one and at moment we spend a lot of time at the hospital, she has to go every friday morning and sometimes another time in the week.
You get free parking for the first 40 mins, but once you have managed to get a space, unloaded a wheelchair and pushed her to whichever department she is in, waited for the appointment - which are never on time.. there is no way you can be out in 40 mins!! The you have to stump up for 2 hours then rising to £3.
I work in NHS, and am not based at the hospital, but if we have to go there for anything we have to pay to park.
It all seems very unfair to me!!
Was working in the NHS 6 years ago and it was pay to park back then.
:banghead::banghead:
??: One hospital in Bristol allows fans by the bed the other does not due to above said electrical testing and the cost of implementing it. At the hospital my Mum was at everyone was using mobiles freely including the patients. 