Hospitals make money from car parks shocker!

BillieTheBot

Story.

Now while Auntie's got her panties in a wad (again) about it, I fail to see what the fuss is about.

Can visitors to hospitals not use the bus or something? Why should the NHS divert money away from patients to pay for a car park? The top earner made £1.5m- of that, £1m was the cost of running the car park and running a free alternative shuttle bus. Disgusting! The other £0.5m went on patient care- helping sick people get better.

You drive, you can damn well pay for it. What's wrong with that? Public transport is excellent to most, if not all, hospitals.

Former Member

Wholeheartedly agreed. Hospitals need money more than the greedy sods quibbling over 20p/hour. If your health problems mean that can't get there on the bus, that's what taxis and non-emergency ambulances are for...

Former Member

piccolo wrote:

Wholeheartedly agreed. Hospitals need money more than the greedy sods quibbling over 20p/hour. If your health problems mean that can't get there on the bus, that's what taxis and non-emergency ambulances are for...

Well I think it depends how much they cost. If your kid is sick and you go to see them every day after work, or you live where there is no public transport, you don't have much choice other than to drive to the hospital. I do think they should charge because the hospital won't pay for people's bus fares! But they should charge a reasonable amount.

Former Member

I can see both sides of the argument. Most people, visitors and some patients, could use public transport. But there will invariably be some, er, sick people for whom using public transport would be nothing short of an ordeal.

Perhaps there should be a better system in place whereby such people are given car park vouchers by the hospital as they go in for treatment, but it is certainly not fair to charge up to £30 per day to someone who really has to use a car to receive treatement regularly.

Former Member

I have to disagree.

It's not as if there is widespread abuse of hospital car parking provision by people who park in them while they toddle off to spend the day shopping - they're at a hospital for a reason (and would undoubtedly prefer to be anywhere but there) and should be provided with a place to park imo.

Maybe, as Aladdin said, it would be a good idea to have some kind of voucher system - as I wouldn't be against charging visitors a nominal fee for parking.

Former Member

Good to see at least part of the NHS isn't provded for by violence and threats.

Former Member

I don't see a problem with charging for parking as long as it is a reasonable rate i.e. not taking advantage of the high demand.

if parking should be free then logically, food, drink, phones etc for visitors should be free also.

Maybe there should be a distinction between parking for users of the hospital and for visitors though I can't see how it would be easilt enforced.......

JsT

Those recieving treatment should probably get cheap or discounted parking, those visiting should use Public Transport and quite rightly be charged if they park at the hospital - I don't know a single hospital that isn't on at least one major convenient bus route.

Former Member

Those directly receiving treatment generally do receive help or discounts towards the cost of parking. Normally its those who are staying in that get the discount, though.

Visitors should pay to park.

Former Member

On the whole, I think its unfair to charge so much for hosptial parking. At Watford the short stay is £2.50 an hour, and A and E can sometimes take ages.

Ive had physio before, and it costed over £100 just in car parking fees.

The hospital donates its car parking for football on matchdays, it must make enough money on that, so why should patients have to pay so much?

im not saying car parking should be free, just cheaper so it covers expenses

Teh_Gerbil

piccolo wrote:

Wholeheartedly agreed. Hospitals need money more than the greedy sods quibbling over 20p/hour. If your health problems mean that can't get there on the bus, that's what taxis and non-emergency ambulances are for...

Yup, me too.

Former Member

briggi wrote:

It's not as if there is widespread abuse of hospital car parking provision by people who park in them while they toddle off to spend the day shopping

Actually there was, and is where the prices are lower than twon parking. Remember most hospitals are fairly near town centres.

There is also the abuse by people who use Patient Transport (free transport to hospital for people with "medical needs") who then toddle off into town for their shopping. So much abuse that many Trusts are now buying IT system to monitor the people who make one way trips so that they can refuse transport in the future.

Maybe, as Aladdin said, it would be a good idea to have some kind of voucher system - as I wouldn't be against charging visitors a nominal fee for parking.

The people I have sympathy for in this instance are those having to attend for regular treatment - kidney dialysis and radiotherapy etc

Former Member

Man Of Kent wrote:

The people I have sympathy for in this instance are those having to attend for regular treatment - kidney dialysis and radiotherapy etc

Of whom I know several [undergoing radiotherapy, that is].

I continue to think they should be provided with free car parking, whether it's implemented by some kind of voucher/temporary permit scheme or different means.

Former Member

The charges are normally something like 20p, 50p, no more than £1. It doesn't seem excessive. You would probably have to pay more at a council-owned car park, for example.

Former Member

Hi - though in principal I dont' really see the problem with paying to park anywhere this is my experience which is why I think that its a bit crap to make people at the hospital pay.

A few years ago I was at guide camp and one of the girls fell over and twisted her ankle - which being the adult in charge of her care I needed to take her to hospital in order to find out weather her foot was broken or not. Now you have to bear in mind we were in the middle of the countryside, she couldnt' walk and the nearest bus stop was a mile away with a bus that went once an hour. So i had to drive into the nearest town.

Once we got to the car park all the parking was on meters so I had to estimate how much time we were going to spend in casualty - I guessed at about 3 hours seeing as it was a Saturday morning and unlikely to be THAT busy. Anyway we were there for 4 hours in the end which ment that the meter which the car was on ran out and i was left with the following dilema do I

a) Hope and pray that I dont' get a parking fine
b) Take me and the child back to the car put some more money in the meter and return to the back of the x-ray que we were in thus staying even longer in the hospital.
c) Leave a injured 10 year old girl alone in an unknown hospital without an adult to look after her, whilst i go to put more money in the meter.

Oh and it wasn't 20p to park it was closer to £1 an hour...

Paying for parking is OK in principal but in practice its not always the best option as its nearly always metered which is just impractical.

Former Member

Wyetry wrote:

Paying for parking is OK in principal but in practice its not always the best option as its nearly always metered which is just impractical.

The car park at the hospitals in Bangor (my nearest) have a way of getting round this. Basically, you buy a ticket on the way in. A machine gives you a ticket, the barrier lifts, you keep it with you. When you leave, you take it to a machine that "scans" a barcode printed on the ticket. It knows when you arrived and tells you how much you need to pay. Once you've paid, it gives you 15 minutes to leave. It seems to get round that problem.

Former Member

Wyetry wrote:

Hi - though in principal I dont' really see the problem with paying to park anywhere this is my experience which is why I think that its a bit crap to make people at the hospital pay.

A few years ago I was at guide camp and one of the girls fell over and twisted her ankle - which being the adult in charge of her care I needed to take her to hospital in order to find out weather her foot was broken or not. Now you have to bear in mind we were in the middle of the countryside, she couldnt' walk and the nearest bus stop was a mile away with a bus that went once an hour. So i had to drive into the nearest town.

Once we got to the car park all the parking was on meters so I had to estimate how much time we were going to spend in casualty - I guessed at about 3 hours seeing as it was a Saturday morning and unlikely to be THAT busy. Anyway we were there for 4 hours in the end which ment that the meter which the car was on ran out and i was left with the following dilema do I

a) Hope and pray that I dont' get a parking fine
b) Take me and the child back to the car put some more money in the meter and return to the back of the x-ray que we were in thus staying even longer in the hospital.
c) Leave a injured 10 year old girl alone in an unknown hospital without an adult to look after her, whilst i go to put more money in the meter.

Oh and it wasn't 20p to park it was closer to £1 an hour...

Paying for parking is OK in principal but in practice its not always the best option as its nearly always metered which is just impractical.

thats the point i was planning to make, you just don't know how long A & E is going to take, and when its as expensive as 2.50 an hour you dont want to overpay.


I dont have to pay to park at Sainsburys, college or at the pub, so why should i have to pay to park at a basic service being a hospital

Former Member

olaola wrote:

you just don't know how long A & E is going to take, and when its as expensive as 2.50 an hour you dont want to overpay.

Well, you know that either you are going to be out in 4 hours or admitted. But if the thing you are really worried about when you are in A&E is your parking then I must ask if you really need to be there. Should the health problem be the biggest concern?

I dont have to pay to park at Sainsburys, college or at the pub, so why should i have to pay to park at a basic service being a hospital

1. Why should the hospital foot the bill for upkeep/provision of a car park because you choose to take your car?

2. Would you rather the money went on medical services, or car parks?

Former Member

2. Would you rather the money went on medical services, or car parks?

Just a small thing but a patch of tarmac doesn't cost millions of pounds a year. Oh and it's already been paid for through theftation so it's charging people twice.

I agree with it ofc, because it might lower the amount of direct theft slightly.

Former Member

Man Of Kent wrote:

Well, you know that either you are going to be out in 4 hours or admitted. But if the thing you are really worried about when you are in A&E is your parking then I must ask if you really need to be there. Should the health problem be the biggest concern?

How about looking at it the other way around. If there is a health reason that you should be in hospital, should you have the added worry of finding change for the parking meter, and worrying how much it will cost

[QUOTE=Man Of Kent

1. Why should the hospital foot the bill for upkeep/provision of a car park because you choose to take your car?

2. Would you rather the money went on medical services, or car parks?[/QUOTE]


i said it would be more fair to pay to cover expenses, but not £2.50 an hour.