Should we pay to park at a hospital?

I feel strongly that hospital parking should be abolished.

I sat with my mother for three days in 2003 while she was seriously ill in Hospital. It cost me a fortune in Parking charges.

She died when I left her for a few minutes, as I had to feed the meter. I had so much wanted to be by her side at the End.

Hospital Parking charges are a diabolical liberty.

Whilst my late wife was ill, between 1998 and 2004, it cost me an absolute fortune in parking charges. I did not think to keep a record of the totals but it must have run into hundreds of pounds.

One instance was her admission for surgery at one hospital. When we learned that her stay was possibly going to be two weeks or more, I was persuaded to take up the offer of discounted parking by paying in advance for a month. She was discharged on the third day. There was no refund despite my requests.

Yes, hospital parking charges should be abolished.

Hospital car parks cost money to run so it is useful to have additional income for our overstretched NHS. Some people also abuse car parks if free. At Wythenshawe Manchester the car park was used as 'free' parking for the airport so charges had to be introduced. There ought to be some form of 'swipe' facility for use in emergencies or for regular treatment visits so parking charges may be waived or reduced.

I live in Stafford and the main hospital is fairly close to the town centre. They didn't used to charge for parking but they have for the last few years. The main reason seemed to be, that commuters to our pretty much dormitory town, were parking up to 4 vehicles for free at the hospital, literally filling the car park;then using one car to get to town, thereby only paying for one parking space,but why can't they reimburse genuine hospital users?

I am a tax payer who has always paid taxes without complaint (well not too much complaint anyway!). I have feel strongly that NHS car parking fees are nothing short of a stealth tax on sick, and their families. I can't think of anything more crass than to levvy a charge on visiting a sick family member. Thankfully I am able to afford to pay these charges but many people can't. It is indicative of the changed mindset of this country - away from the needs of the patient to squeezing the very last penny out of commercial greed. NHS - a free service to all at the point of need. NHS car park fees - free tax/income point of collection at the point of health care.

I feel that something needs to be done about this issue and it can cost people lots of money when they become very ill and have to stop working leaving a lack of finances.

I developed a chronic illness that took a while to diagnose at first and affected various parts of my body. This meant going to hospital departments frequently and having many blood tests and x-rays/scans. I made frequent visits to ENT, Eye, Neurology, and Rheumatology outpatient clinics waking long hours to been seen while my partner waited for me and then had to pay high parking fees.
As I did not claim any benefits I was not entitled to claim these expenses back.

I disagree with hospitals charging for parking. I had to go for some very stressful tests in the summer and the last thing I needed was to have to worry about whether I had change to pay for parking. But if it has to be paid for, the same as prescription charges, if the NHS is a national institution then the whole country pays for it. It is absolutely outrageous that certain sections of the population i.e. the English, are subsidising these things for the rest. If it were the other way around there would no doubt be a shout of racism!

I cant see anything wrong with parking charges in town centre hospitals. There are a limited number of spaces which need to be built and maintained. As a visitor to the hospital I can choose to pay for the convenience of parking there or park elsewhere and walk in.
I agree there needs to be a system which allows regular out-patients to be recompensed or exempted from the cost but most problems are caused by visiting hours not being staggered and with staff hogging the spaces. Few workplaces give staff a free or subsidised parking space nowadays.
Look at how empty supermarket car parks are on all but saturday afternoons; stagger visiting hours and most of the problems will disappear.

Hospital parking should be free for all patients, both in and out-patients, and for medical and direct support staff. Managers and adminisitrators should pay a going rate (compared to local car parking charges. Visitors should pay a fixed charge as in Shrewsbury, except when engaged in long-term visiting when a reduced rate should apply.

I am a medical student at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire, and find myself severly penalised by parking charges at the hospital, especially as I don't have a salary yet. But I think the most unreasonable thing about the charges at the hospital is that the minimum parking available is 4 hours, even though visiting hours are only 2 hours long!

This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

North Hampshire Hospital.
Wife's Labour had to be induced.
After starting the procedure, then delaying for 5 days, followed by 20 hours of labour, I had to pay £5 per day, for the priveledge.
I didn't have this change to hand, at a time when I had enough to worry about.
Scrap the charges

I think hospital car park prices are terrible. I visited walsgrave hospital in coventry for a blood test this week but never waited as it was too busy. I was only in the car park for 6 minutes and was charged £3!!!

I appreciate that car parking costs money, however to apply the inflated charges that are in use is very wrong. My local hospital in Middlesbrough changed from a system where you paid a set fee for a full days parking to an hourly rate which is absolutely excessive. I went to A&E the other week but couldn't wait for my x-ray results because parking cost me too much! It is not like this car park would be abused as it is not in an industrial area, therefore only limited users would benefit. The only people currently benefitting are the local council who run the facility!

This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

It wouldn't be so bad if the hospital parking charges went back into the hospital. I don't think many people would object to new scanners or other equipment being the result of high parking charges. Private car park firms getting rich on us is outrageous.

Our son was diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy in March 2008 - we now need to visit 2 hospitals frequently, one in Pembury and one in London frequently for Physiotherapy, check-ups etc - the news was devastating for us as a family and then we were having to pay parking charges for a free NHS service?? Luckily we have been accepted for a Disability badge and now do not have to pay but I do feel for those who are supporting family members with cancer or the like and having to pay to visit - It is a complete travesty of free life and none of us ask to be faced with a loved one in a dire health situation.

I am a service engineer and travel to many hospitals - the most expensive one I have found so far is Southampton at £20 for the day!

Having read all of the posts I am moved to ask the following question

Is there not a bus service to the hospitals being talked about?

In the last 10 years I have lived in 14 cities and all of the hospitals were served by bus routes.

I feely strongly against paying for car park fees at my local hosptial when anyone visiting my local prison gets to park for free!!!

I think that hospital car park charges are simply taking advantage of peoples misfortunes and are therefore disgusting.

I don't agree with charging hospital users for using there parking facilities. Fair enough people do abuse these parking facilities and they should be charged. They should create a system where when the hospital user pays for parking, they can rip off another part of the ticket which they can pop into a machine in a hospital ward and have a full refund on the money that they have paid for parking.

I think high hospital parking charges are immoral. I had to drive my son to Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford last Friday to the A & E for a suspected broken hand. Firstly I had to leave him alone to run to the canteen to get change for the machine - a shocking £2.50 per hour!! I then had to leave him again to feed more money (all I had incidently) into the machine meaning I missed him being called and had to argue for another slot when I returned. Why the charges? The hospital is not near any shopping areas or station - no-one who is not ill, visiting or staff needs to park there?

I lost my son June 2008 as he was a stillborn I had to let everyone know that I had had him. They all can and complaned about tha there was no parking spaces. My friend parked down the road as near to the hospital as she could but she got a ticket as she was parked in the wrong space but there was now where else to park and my son was not going to be with us long as he was going to the morge. So I do agree with the prices but more spaces but then I do think the prices are too high. This is as your not sire how long you are going to be there for.

Stephanie Burrows

The hospital is Hillingdon

I work in Ninewells hospital Dundee and our car parking charges have not been scraped because the car parks are run by a private company i work full time and it costs me £25.oo a month to go to work and the daily fee is going up on 1st november. This is just to park the take no responsility for loss or damage so what are we paying for nothing.

It is not true that all hospitals in Scotland are discontinueing the parking charges, the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary still charges and will continue to charge, (extremely high parking charges) as the hospital still has to pay its way due to PFI funding of the hospital.

Carole Scott [Hi Carole, thought you might like to know that Edinburgh Royal Infirmary say their parking will be free from January 1st 2009. Regards Eddie, Watchdog web team]

It always annoys me at Doncaster Royal Infirmary when I see the sign "have you paid and displayed" The same question always comes to mind. What if I was rushing one of my children into A&E not wanting to wait for an ambulance and then needing to use there carpark, would I stop and think oh must go over to the pay machine. I very much doubt it. The car park doesn't appear to be staffed so who is there to pay for it's use ? I doubt anyone uses it for town parking as there is ample in the town centre, so that shouldn't be a problem. C'mon abolish these charges.

My husband has been in and out of hospital for the last 6 months, more in than out. At the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading, visiting hours are 2.0pm to 5.30 and 6.30 to 8.0 pm at £2.40 for 2 hours - so work that out!! but to add insult to injury, disabled parking, of which about one third of the second floor of the multi-storey car park is, they get free parking. Does that seem fair - just because you are disabled, does that mean you can't afford to pay. I don't mind paying a reasonable sum but I think the foregoing is very unfair.

I agree that that hospital car parking fees should be abolished - however the comments on Watchdog re Scotland having already done so is not strictly true - there are at least 2 Hospitals I know of that still charge - Glasgow Royal Infirmary as the car park was build under PFI (private funding) and Southern General - for what ever reason I dont know - NO ONE should have to pay for parking at a hospital to either receive treatment or visit someone who is receiving treatment

Never had to use an English Hospital Car Park, since charges were levied.
But this year I had to go to Wrexham Mealor Hospital to visit, as we know there are No parking charges in Wales, but there is a £70 charge if you don't display your Free 2 hr parking limit ticket from the many machines there ie. Visiting hours, eg.3 to 4pm usually. I was told, but not from the hospital staff, this is to prevent 'Shoppers' and 'Business users' from parking all day! The walk to the Supermarket is quite a distance away and much further to the City centre, you would need a bus there. Come on England follow suit.

I totally disagree with parking charges at hospitals. It is not by choice that people attend hospital, either as a patient or a visitor. It is especially upsetting when visiting dying relatives in hospital. There are other ways to generate income, instead of making the vulnerable pay.

Last week I had to take my 87 year old mother for x-ray investigations and even with Disabled Badges we had to pay the same charges of over £4. for around three hours. I think if you are there to receive treatments that they know will keep you for over the minimum payment stage they shouild waive these charges. I have to take her for the same again this week and who knows how many more times.

I attend a local hospital in swansea were charges have been scrapped. I now wish they would re introduce them as parking has gone from bad to worse since this has happened.

BY 8.30am you CANNOT park in the patient car park's as the staff now use these as its closer for them. Trouble is we cannot park in theirs as there are barriers stopping us!!!

I have emailed the NHS and the Health Miniter at the Welsh Assembly with my concerns. The Health Minister has answered to say that the Hospital is aware and monitoring the situation. What a lie as 8 wks after I had received the reply the situation is as bad as ever.

FREE parking, bring back charges

Linda Madge
20:21 13/10/08

My little boy was rushed to hospital because when he was born with a couple of problems. He was there for 3 days so i had to pay to stay with my baby. Then i got a phone call saying he has to go to oxford so i rushed to the hospital and parked the car for no longer than 5mins and i got a ticket. I rushed to make sure my baby was ok and i forgot to pick some money up, so i didnt have any money on me. So for a worrying mother i got charged £70 but where i paid it with in 2 weeks it was £35. i dont think you should pay at the end of the day your there to see people who are ill. So why should you have to pay to see family and friends.

I have attended The West Middlesex Hospital for the last 11 years, and in the past few years had to pay for parking. I have a Blue badge, but still have to pay for parking. Today my appointment was for 11.45am....but was runnng 45 minutes late, hey presto....more money for the car park charges. I am on disability allowance like so many others out there. Give us a break !!!!

I have a daughter who has chronic uveitis and chronic juvenile arthritis. Basically this involves lots of trips to Birmingham Childrens Hospital. Because of its location and limited parking spaces, invariably you have to park on the road.
This is run by the local council and the maximum you can park is two hours for £4. As a result of this, if the visit is over two hours - which invariably it is, you have to either leave your child or take him/her with you to reknew the parking ticket. At this stage, you know you will miss your appt slot as it takes around 20 mins to walk too and from the on road parking.

This is so frustrating, especially if you have a child with a disablement. However to add insult to injury I have been told of so many people who are just a few minutes late who get tickets. The wardens must love it!! They are constantly outside of the hospital checking tickets, easy pickings in my opinion, targetting the most desperate and vulnerable.

hi i live in derby and at the old dri hospital disabled parking is free, but at the new royal derbyshire they charge full rates. this is totaly unfair [Watchdog note: Derby Hospital NHS Trust say they have a blend of free and paid for spaces at both hospitals. Regards, Eddie, Watchdog web team]

i live next to the alex hospital in redditch and rather than pay charges many people park in our close and on the road leading to our close, which makes it difficult and dangerous when residents drive out as we are on a road that is on a hill and a bend making visibility difficult.

As a hospital worker I have a monthly amount deducted from my pay at source. That is I have to pay to go to work. This does not guarantee me a space.
If I have to pay to go to work to treat and diagnose patients, patients should have to pay. However I think the rates should be reasonable. £2.00 per 4 hours max. The reason patients get upset is that the rates are extortionate.
The purpose of the charges is to make public transport the better option. The green option.

Where's the problem? If hospital parking is free, or cheap, commuters fill the car parks - hence genuine visitors have no chance (except at weekends - and I know that from experience at a maternity unit)! Equally if it's phenominally expensive genuine patients or visitors may not be able to afford the price. So... the machine gives you a ticket. If you are a true patient or visitor you redeem the ticket for free (or just a nominal charge). If you're just using the carpark for the day while you're at work you redeem the ticket for some stupidly astronomical fee!! As a fund raiser only certain parts of the car park could be subject to this!

It may come as a surprise to the Government but hospitals are for people who are unwell. These are not car parks for a fitness centre!

Shockingly, with an ageing population there is a problem,elderly people get ill as do our growing ranks of the clinically obese.

Elderly people tend to be somewhat impoverished and the obese seem to predominate amongst those on social benefits. Without having to run through the basic rules of logic it would be immediately apparent that these people tend to be amongst the poorest elements of our society. Why are we crippling the finances of those who are experiencing health problems? Tax the poor after all that's what we used to do in the past which is where it should be consigned to. Scrap them!

Although I live in Wales and therefore do not have to pay hospital car park charges, I stongly believe that it would be better if charges were made. The NHS can not afford to pay for many drugs that are life saving,and the money would be better used there than on subsidising car parking .

Why does every news program insist on saying that parking is free in Wales, well its not free, Following is a selection of main Hospitals who do charge Haverford West, Carmarthen, Llanelli, Bridgend, Cardiff all charge for parking and yet we the English keep on saying its free, WHY, the government do not give anything away this is just a way of aggrivating everybody, News programs please check out your information before you comment on issues close to the pocket.

Recently I spent four or five hours per day at my mother's bedside at Darent Valley Hospital in Kent. Car parking was £1 per hour and over the two weeks, the costs mounted. I could have bought a weekly ticket for £20 but unfortunately I was waiting day by day for news of her discharge. I did nt anticipate the length of her stay. Now, IF the hospital was charging to avoid non patients/visitors etc taking up valuable space, I MIGHT feel there is some justification for the hospital charges, BUT Darent Valley is out in the middle of nowhere! NO-ONE would park there for any other reason than using the hospital. It is a straightforward money maker! The salt in the wound was getting charged an extra pound as the queue for the one working payment machine, was so long, it took me over into the next hour by one minute!

Car parking should be regulated to allow bona fide patients and visitors to same to park free. This would get over the problems of non-users of the hospital from using the facilities for shopping etc. Surely a satisfactory way of regulating car parking in this manner is not beyond the ability of hospital administrators.

At our Hospital (Royal Sussex) disabled parking used to be free but now we have to pay the full charges for our frequent visits due to my wifes illnesses. She is unable to travel by public transport so we have no choice but to use the car. In addition on querying this with a car park attendent the first time he referred to us as "you people want everything" we should have made a formal complaint at the time but typically disnt.

January 2nd this year,
04.45 my wife had a heart-attack,i rushed her to our hospital,she was admitted, i left her bedside at 01.am the next morning and after paying £12 for the time i was there i left to return the next morning with a pocket full of machine payments.
My moan is-
We were there because my wife nearly died, i was there for my wife,we only have each other and now we had the extra worry of paying the local council their blood money,we were not there for fun,were both stressed as it was and then when i left the hospital i found a Traffic warden hovering near my car,i was not very happy. My wife was in for 15 days in the Cardiac care unit and i forged out about £40.00.
In Febuary she had another heart attack and was in for 10 days.
We don't see the justification of the high charges that the council impose on the grieving,the patients and their families, Fine whach their parking tarriffs on parking everywhere else but leav us all alone as far as hospitals are concerned.
The people who saved my wife's life had to pay for working at the hospital where they saved my wife,what a disgrace this town has fallen to.
The money doesn't go to the hospital,no it goes to the council.
Say no more.

I think its disgusting aswell, i know this won't change much but if you had an appointment for yourself (not visiting) if you recieve child tax credits (some other benefits may apply) you can get your carparking charge refunded.

At Epsom Hospital they even charge the community midwives who must use their cars to do their work in the community, to park their cars. This includes an annual admin fee and daily charges if the 2 hour bays of which there are not enough, are full. Perhaps London Transport should charge the bus drivers to park their buses at the garage overnight!

I work at my local hospital the parking fees are quite steep, but what gets me is when they clamp cars and ask for fix fee of £35.00. I have even seen them clamp a car which was equipped for a disabled child. The trouble is ever time they do building work they use the disabled bays for this.

I am disabled, on high rate mobilty allowance which the government provides to subsidise my transport because I am unable to walk. What then gives the NHS, a government department, the right to take some of this money off me evry time I have to visit the hospital. They are effectively changing the amount of the mobilty allowance, penalising the most sick the hardest. Hypocracy at its worst.

After your prog tonight, you stated that carparking in wales was free I can tell you that this is not the case in south wales in the princess of wales hospital in bridgend car parking is 1 pound per visit, in prince phillip hospital in Llanelli car parking charge is 1.50 per 2 hrs, and in west wales hospital Carmarthen parking is 1.50 per 2hrs.
regards
oscartrix.
mike,

I really think people should stop and think before they condemn hospitals most are within a bus ride for most people the priority should only be for patients or staff they are jampacked with visitors who are too lazy to walk for five minutes

our son who is four was diagnosed with a rare brain tumour last december (craniopharyngioma) we have had a very difficult time dealing with this, petrol costs alone has cost us over £2000 since december and car park fees are on top , as he has had x2 ops and radiotherapy we visit the christes hospital and pendlebury hosptal and the eye hospital all in manchester along with our own local ones in order to control and manage his tumour. we have to visit every month on certain dates , and this will be ongoing for the rest of his life . our fees to park are different for all hospitals but average at £3 for a few hours , we have readdressed our life style in order to combat these extra charges that we will pay now and in the future. many parents and patients are in this situation and simply can not or struggle to deal with the extra financial burden. we have a strong family network that is essencial , but not all do. so i say to those who complain about visiting once or twice a year to any hospital, think how hard it is for familes like mine.
the most important thing to ourselves is the well being of our sons , so this financial factor is at the back of our brain. however i thought it prudent to comment ,so as to add strength to making a fairer way for poorly patients and families slightly easier with these added charges ,
best of luck
M Hill

The ethos of the NHS is care free at the point of delivery.
By levying car park charges care is no longer free at the point of delivery.
I wonder how trusts that charge for car parking reconcile themselves with that.
Also employees who work for the NHS are being charged for the pleasure of working due to the levying of car park charges.
Where does all the money from car parks go to?

how about starting a scheme where patiants and visitors to the hospital go to reception and get a ticket to park free there by stopping commuters and others not using the hospital parking

I was told that my brother had been admitted to the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, knowing that he was suffering from cancer I was fearful that I would not arrive on time.

After many minutes of trying to find a parking space I was faced with finding the right money for parking. after searching through the car I managed to find enough to pay. The first machine had an out of order sign on it. found another and then I was faced with having to type in my registration number.

In my grief I had no idea so I had to go back to the car to find out.

Is this anyway to treat a relative.

I don't think so

I work at a hospital and the parking is pathetic. I have to travel 15 miles each way and I now have no choice but to travel by motor cycle because I can not afford to pay for the petrol in the car (this being around £10 per week more than the bike) and the £40 to £50 per month parking fees where as I can park the bike for free.
Two main gripes. One,I've never seen an exeq togging up into the winter gear ready for the ride home, and two the council have made most of the on street parking that was available into residants only within a two mile radius of the hospital even though 90% of the buildings involved are hospital property, This I suspect is to make money on parking meters and fines. The trust, just like anyone else had the oppertunity to object to the planned parking plans but didn't, why I wonder.The council, I believe are now planning to widen the 2 mile radius.
WHY should I have to pay to park for work and why did my trust, who have the workers in mind, not object to the councils plans on parking which made a bad situation worse.

I can't believe people are so tight fisted! The wonderful value provided by the NHS has got to be worth a few measly pounds on car parking. Think of the overall value, if you are not happy with paying for parking use public transport-see how much that costs!

I think there should be a small charge of £1.00 for a whole days parking to help raise funds for hospitals. This should be done whereby your registration number is typed on the ticket at the machines to avoid transfer. Those that are with knowledge of long stays should be offered a long term ticket at a capped rate of £10.00. I think this would be both profitable and affordable. I do believe that any profit gets injected into the hospital for patient care.

I think to have to visit a Hospital under any circumstances is bad enough but to have to pay to park whilst you are there is an absolute disgrace. My Son had an accident when he was 16 months old (he is now nearly 15 years old) It was the worst time of my life and to have to think about change for parking meters was the last thing on my mind, it was my childs life. The Hospitals that I have visited, are always full and to find a space to park can be a mammoth task in itself, paying to park should be SCRAPPED.

At least some hospitals has free parking for disabled. John Radcliffe in Oxford make disabled pay for parking

Hospital car park fees should be abolished. I recently was paying up to £7.50 a day to visit my parents in two different hospitals.
One hospital in Luton is 2.50 per visit , the other in Stevenage was £2.50 for up to four hours.
This is not a stealth tax because it is obvious and visible.
I am fortunate that I could afford to pay but what about those on fixed incomes??

IN YOUR REPORT ON HOSPITAL CAR PARK CHARGES IN WALES IM SORRY TO SAY THAT WE STILL PAY FOR PARKING ,AND WILL DO SO FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS UNTILL THE CONTRACTS HAVE RUN OUT AND ONLY THEN WILL WE HAVE FREE PARKING. FOR YOUR RECORDS ROYAL GLAMORGAN HOSPITAL AND THE HEATH HOSPITAL ARE BUT TWO THAT STILL CHARGE .I HAVE PAID IN BOTH OF THESE HOSPITALS IN THE LAST MONTH

I thing its wrong that we pay for parking when visiting family and friends in hospital were not there to go shopping were there for very important reason and theres nothing more stressfull to be visiting pooly or dying friends or family to worry or evern thing about how much the parkings going to cost..come on thats not right .(claire lye portchester hants )

I live with my wife of 65, I am 72. We make frequent trips to a hospital 15 miles away for treatment. We are compelled to go by car, there is no public transport where we live.Although parking charges at the hospital are just one pound per hour, we have to pay for two hours minimum.
Pensioners in urban areas at the very least get free public transport to and from hospitals.

I recently had occasion to use parts of Northwick Park Hospital in Harrow. I had NHS and Private treatment. In NHS I had to pay for parking but in the Private operation they gave me a token to get my car out. Surely it is not beyond the wit of the NHS bosses to invent something similar for patients There is also an excellent bus service right to the door for those who can/want to use it.

i think paying for parking terrible, its a degrace i think that rule should be ablioshed

Hospital Parking fee's are a bad idea for all but rare visitors as it can prove very expensive and distressing. If the Hospitals wish to ensure that only valid visitors and patients use the car park, they should issue a parking pass/ticket upon arrival (On production of an appointment slip etc) and impose large fines on car's who do not show one. If they require revenue to support policeing of this then apply for funding from the Govt or at worst, charge a nominal daily fee (£1 for example)for those who meet the criteria above. For more regular visitors such as Cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy, a longer term pass would need to be issued, with a small fee where appropriate. Most people don't mind payng a small contribution but can do without having to clock watch and leave there loved ones's on their own at difficult and upsetting times to feed a meter to avoid a fine.

Our local hospital in Barnsley charges for car parking and is not too expensive. I recently had to vist the hospital with my 20mth old dayghter and ended up being dropped off while my husband tried to find parking through the lack of space. although i do agree with other's that you dont choose to go to hospital you go because you have to and in ongoing cases their should be some type of free parking system moderated by hospital issued passes just an idea but maybe the right person will read this and take it forward.

my daughter suffered a severe stroke three months ago,the current hospital charges are £3.00 for the first two hours ,£ four pounds after that and so on up per hour.
but cheshire hospital trust in there magnamity lets us buy a long term illness ticket for £10.00 a week, so as you can see up till now it has cost me, a pensioner £140.00.
the medical staff have told me that until my daughter has mobility she will not be discharged,
and up till now can see no improvment for several months to come.
so as you can guess i am totally against hospital parking charges

barnet hospital has a charge of £4.00. If you spend 1 minute to all day it is still £4.00.
I have prostate cancerand will shortly recive treatment. You cannot find a parking place at barnet and have to wait till some one leave. For the price of £4.00 I would expect to drive and park without any hassel. I have had 5 visits so far at at total cost of £20.00.
if I have radiotherapy I will need to for 5days for 4 weeks which will cost £80.00 or if I have an operation then 1 day to drop me off, another to pick me up. Vistors would have to pay £4.00 per visit plus after care visits. Who said the NHS is free.
There are no special deals for the sick.
Is it fair that a visitor should pay £4.00 for an Hours visit.
If you visit barnet why give or sell your car parking ticket to some one just arriving when you leave. Lets get back at barnet.
When you go for treatment you may be booked in for 10.00am but you will not be seen till 12.00 pm is it fair that you not only have to wait but pay car parking charges?

Our local hospital the only one in this area still charges for you to park your car because this was privately built a few years ago the other local hospitals are free.

consider this.is the nhs free at the piont of use...does the piont of use start at the entrance to the car park.at reception not only do you give your details but your reg number ...yes.abolish the nhs parking charges and work out a method to stop abusers of the facility

Having to pay at the hospital is disgusting, it's another way of scamming more money out of the ordinary working person

I've got an operation in December and have been told that the parking will cost around £15, very rarely do we carry cash around with us.

If parking is near a town centre, then other methods should be introduced to stop people from abusing it. i.e a stamp, if the ticket has not been stamped then yes charge them otherwise it should be free

In reply to feedback user 19 ovverbruv
Why would any parent transport their sick child on a bus ?
Our trip by car takes over a hour via motorway .
As a caring parent i feel that time is very valuable .
I suggest you think before you type

Many of the staff that worked at Oldchurch hospital in Romford were told, that after moving into the new state of the art Queen's hospital across the road they would only be alloud to park in the hospital car park if they lived more than three miles away. then the crunch came. We were told that everybody including staff would have to pay to park. Even parking in the ajacent Ice Rink NHS workers would have to pay. This was outragous and a partition was taken by the workers. The trust then gave us back free staff parking at the local Rugby club. However only after a lot of negotiating did the trust replace the free minibus service to and from the Rugby club. I feel it is outragous that Hospitals should alow outside bodies to come in and run /charge for hospital parking.

I do not like paying for hospital parking but accept that it is just another form of NHS income paid by users of the service (in the same way as, say, prescriptions). What I really object to is pay-and-display.

Pay-and-display means two things. Firstly, you must have the right change. Secondly, you have to pay for far more than you are likely to need, because you have no idea whether you will be 10 minutes or several hours. Furthermore, the tickets are not legally transferable, so you might have two or three hours left on your ticket, but the person who takes your space when you leave has to pay all over again, so two or potentially more people are paying for the same space concurrently! How can that possibly be fair?

They want it all ways.

The charges should be nominal and paid on exit. OK, switching to pay-on-exit would take time and money, but it would take no time at all to make the tickets transferable. Why not start with that?

LOL - you really are missing the point, you say Scotland and Wales pay no Parking fees at hospitals, The Welsh have enjoyed free prescriptions for years and I think the Scotts gain that privilage next year - "The United Kingdom" not under this governemnt why should what you pay for Parking, Prescriptions, Optical Services or Dentistry depend on your postcode in a United Kingdom where we all get one vote for One National government

hi i work at uhw in cardiff i have to pay to go to work every day charges cannot be scraped as contractfor car parks run for another 10 years.we shouldnt have to pay to go to work marilyn

Just to put things right.The hospital parking in the majority of hospitals in Wales are NOT FREE.What most hospitals here did was hand the parking over to private parking companies just before they became free.What the FREE parking rules then said was, all hospitals whose car parks are still run by the hospitals themselves are 100% free, but that is a TINY amount. The Welsh goverment are misleading everyone just to make it look like they care.

I would like to make a comment on behalf of hospital staff. We have to pay £35 a year at the moment and have been told that it could go up even higher. For most staff that is a whole years pay rise gone.Why should we have to pay to go to work, we can't use public transport as we start early , before the busses are running and finish late , after they have stopped for the night.

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Have hospitals in Wales abolished parking charges or are they in the process of doing so? A hospital I visited recently was charging £1 for 24 hours parking whilst visiting was for less than 2 hours a day.
My understanding was that because they are tied into a 'timed' contract with the parking company they will need to keep charges for some considerable time.

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I had the pleasure, or not of taking a friend to the Royal Free in London(as featured on the show). Not knowing how long we would be there we paid £3 for an hour. Five hours later we left the hospital. I topped up the ticket every hour thus exceeding the time limit. There were simply no other spaces to move the car into and this was on Sunday morning. I can't imagine how mad i'd get if I had to spend the whole day there or longer. The ticket system does not offer any discount for longer stay. What's more there is no option to park outside the hospital as it's double yellow lines everywhere or take a chance with Resident's Permit territory. Realistically I would expect to pay some charge in a busy urban area but not get ripped off. I also agree with the comment of allowing a genuine visitor to reimburse or obtain a free parking ticket from the hospital.

I DO NOT AGREE WITH THE HIGH COST OF PARKING IN THE HOSPITALS. MY WIFE WAS IN HOSPITAL LAST CHRISTMAS FOR NEARLY 3 WEEKS AND I WENT TO SEE HER TWICE A DAY. AFTER A COUPLE OF VISTITS I PARKED OUT SIDE THE HOSPITAL BECAUSE OF THE COST. I WOULD AGREE A £1.00 FEE FOR 10 MINS TO ALL DAY TO HELP WITH THE RUNNING COSTS SO WHEN YOU GET YOUR TICKET WHEN YOU GO IN IT WILL COVER YOU FOR ALL DAY USE NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES YOU GO INTO THE HOSPITAL

I am a 2nd year student nurse in shropshire. I have to pay for a parking permit for staff parking although spaces are not guaranteed, especially at busy times. It is discounted to what full time staff pay but I still think that, as professionals providing a public service we should not have to pay at all. I dont think that patients and/or visitors should pay either, its just another form of profiting off the vunerable. The money we get as students is not a lot anyway and having to pay to work is appauling. We should follow scotland and wales' example and scrap parking charges.

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I agree hospital parking fees should be abolished they are vultures praying on the sick. People who need to go to hospital are worried enough without having to worry about how much or how long they are allowed to stay in the car park for. My Mum had a hospital appointment with a specialist to discuss her results of a resent brain scan. Having spent nearly 20 minutes looking for a parking place she was 5 minutes late for her appointment. Thinking she was only going to be and hour at the longest she bought a car parking ticket for 2 hours. She then had to wait and hour and a half in the waiting room before seeing the consultant. After being told she had a brain tumor my mother couldn’t take all the information and was in a state of shock. After being told the news she then had to see a Macmillan nurse which took up another hour. By this time my mother was not able to take in anymore information due to worrying too much about being over her time limit on her parking ticket and having her car clamped and not being able to get home. My mother then found a car parking ticket on her car for £18 which if it wasn’t paid within 28 days would double. It is cases like this or similar that I think the car parking fees should be totally abolished or they are given free parking spaces or vouchers to park.

Car parking fees should defiantly be abolished or a simple free car parking area for those who have an appointment. My dad was taken into hospital and through many hospital errors with his treatment had to stay in much longer than he expected. At one point my dad was near deaths door and fearing for his life my mum visited him every day. Due to the high price of hospital car parking fees my mum could not afford to stay with my dad for a long length of time. She could not work and lost wages during this traumatic time. It is stories like this or similar true stories, why I think it absolutely diabolical that anybody visiting hospital should be made to pay high car parking fees

I am not affected by hospital parking charges in the UK as I live in France. However, I believe the solution in France could be easily be adopted in the UK. While the norm in France is free hospital parking, some hospitals in large towns must take measures to ensure that adequate free parking is available to entitled persons. The solution is to inform, by way of a large notice, all drivers entering the hospital car park that, in order to leave the car park, they must demonstrate to the staff at the hospital reception desk that they have business in the hospital. This is usually a simple matter eg, an appointment notice or admission letter. It can be done after emergency treatment using confirmation by the Accident & Emergency staff. When this is done, they receive a token or a code which allows them to open the barrier to leave the car park. Much of the time, it is not necessary to go to the hospital by car: admission to and dischrge from in-patient treatment and out-patient appoitments in connection with serious illness qualify the patient for free transport to and from hospital in a vehicle which is appropriate to the patient's condition, be this a taxi or an ambulance.

when hospital fines started in was shocked...i absolutley think its discusting us paying to see our sick relatives. my dad is in hospital at since the last 2months and i have to miss days in the week to see him as i cannot afford the parking. this adds upset on him as he wants me to come every day.

i really do hope the so called goverment does something about this as it is not fair on the unemployed and low wages.!!!!

Not all hospitals in Wales have scrapped the car parking charges. I work at University Hospital of Wales who sold the rights to Vinci Car Parks, so charges are still in place here. They also own a car park next to the hospital which, because my colleague cannot get a car-parking space on the hospital site (because she lives 0.1mile under the required 3 miles) has to pay double what it costs to park on the hospital site. This car park is badly marked out, not very well lit, always packed, and the path leading up to it is very often flooded, and the diversion takes a lot longer.

I believe parking charges are part of an ill-health tax. The charges certainly seem to be well over a level to recover costs. This causes cars to be displaced into the local residential streets causing inconvenience to the local residents. The worst aspect of this tax is that at least a part of it is spent for the betterment of Scotland and Wales

Regarding Hospital parking charges, In feel very strongly that they should be either,abolished or have a barrier so that you pick up a ticket as you go in and only pay for the time that you are parked.
The Hospital that I visit charges £2.60 for three hours and higher for longer stay. More often or not the hospital looses out because if I am under three hours I will pass my ticket on too some one else.If they only charged for the time I was parked I would not do that

The arguements for the charges are that it raises revenue for the hospital trust who have to provide the facilities and it stops local commuters from using/abusing the hospital parking facilities.

However, the way these charges are implemented is often unfair. I feel that it is not fair to expect to have to feed a meter prior to your visit. Often, when arriving at a hospital you have no idea how long the stay will be and to have to keep dashing off to feed a meter is clearly wrong under certain circumstances.

I don't object to charges providing they are reasonable (and the £3 per hour that was mentioned on the show is outrageous) but they must be charged retrospectively and if necessary, invoiced (what if you dash to hospital and have no money on you?). The department that you visit should issue a chit that proves that you are on legitimate business at the hospital, which would give the holder a preferential exit rate. No chit- then the rate should be punitive to stop the casual parkers who find it necessary to block important spaces and catch the train!

If they do decide to scrap charges at hospitals in England, they do need to something to prevent people abusing them. Leicester Royal Infirmary's car park may be abused by fans of Leicester City and Leicester Tigers as both of their grounds are close by. Parking at the moment is a pain

Having worked for the NHS for a decade, I was appaulled to find a parking ticket on my car whilst on-call, following a 12 and 1/2 shift at the Royal Free Hospital on a sunday, with a hospital id badge and contact details clearly displayed on my car. Please note-I was parked in the staff car park and have been harrassed by more than 8 letters including threats to damage my credit references! Since when has it been an offence to park at ones workplace!