Hospital parking charge...£15!!!

Treadway1

Hi all,

This is mainly going to be a rant, but maybe there is some info someone may be able to offer. I have just come back from Queens Hospital in Romford, Essex (Although Im sure this practice isnt unique to them), after my father was rushed into hospital by ambulance this morning with chest pains. The car park was the type where you take a ticket, and pay via a machine on the way out. Obviously, as I was a bit of a rush to get in the hospital, I didnt bother checking the parking fees, so just took my ticket, parked up and ran in.

Anyway, 6 1/2 hours later, when my father was thankfully discharged, I made my way out of the hospital, and found that I had to pay £15 for parking!!!! :eek:

It was then that I looked at the charges which were listed as, 1-3 hrs:£1.60, 3-6 hrs:£3.10, and then anything over 6 hrs:£15. Now I have no issue with paying a fee to park, but I think that a jump of £11.90 for what realistically could be a difference of 30 seconds (Although I know it was half an hour in my case), smacks a little bit of a rip off.

In a true English fashion, I shall be writing a strongly worded letter to the local NHS trust, and the parking company that runs the car park (As I assume this would be contracted out by the NHS), to enquire why they find it necessary to charge such an exorbitant rate, when it would seem obivous that most people would be at a hospital for over 6 hours.

As I say, this is more of a rant really, but would be interested to know if others have had experience of anything like this before? and what kind of response they had from the NHS.

Thanks for your time.

astonsmummy

I had the same shock when visiting Kings college hospital in London, £9 for having to go there for a CVS.
I didnt complain though, as the whole experience was so traumatic I just didnt bother, £15 is rediculous!
At our local a&e hospital they give out little tickets to cap the parking charges @ £3 if you are in there for ages,

photome

Hospital Parking has to be charged for in England because all our taxes our going to subsidise hospital parking elsewhere

VfM4meplse

£15 is just ridiculous. We all know Queens is absolute rubbish despite being a new build but generating income from patients shouldn't be part of the turnaround plan.

http://www.bhrhospitals.nhs.uk/contactus/complaints3.php

pogofish

I thought most hospitals now operate a scheme where close family members who have to stay withy them for long periods can claim a discount code/ticket from the ward reception that limits the maximum payment.

Try asking the ward/reception but I have no idea how you would go about reclaiming any overpayment.

Treadway1

pogofish wrote: »

I thought most hospitals now operate a scheme where close family members who have to stay withy them for long periods can claim a discount code/ticket from the ward reception that limits the maximum payment.

Try asking the ward/reception but I have no idea how you would go about reclaiming any overpayment.

I could be wrong, but I think this may be only for people who are visiting the hospital for long periods of time (i.e. weeks or months), to visit a family member. This was brought to light recently after a report by my local paper revealed one woman had paid over £500 parking for 6 weeks, whilst visiting her cancer suffering father in hospital.

Its an absolute outrage. As I say I dont mind paying for parking (Although, I found out today that Scotland and Wales have abolished Hospital parking charges, as one poster has mentioned above)
, but £15 is just rediculous.

Anyway, Ive been drafting up a letter today, so Ill let you all know what kind of response I get. Although I think I can guess now what it will be!!!

pogofish

Yup - It could well depend on the policies of each individual hospital. Although a while back, when I had to take my elderly mother up to eye casualty (normal hospital parking, not A&E) & had to sit for 6 hours whilst she was attended to, a nurse did come & remind me to get such a ticket - Which reduced my payment to the basic charge of IIRC, £1.50 & I have a vague reccolection of something about the maximum that someone attending a long-stay paitent was expected to pay was £3 a day. But yes, our charges have now been abolished FTM.

I am now hearing rumours about a flaming CPZ extension instead - A consultation form was circulated last week. :mad:

MX5huggy

Write to your MP as well.

The problem for hospitals is that if the parking is cheep it will get used by everybody. The jump in cost at 6hrs is so that office workers won't park there for the whole day.

Treadway1

MX5huggy wrote: »

Write to your MP as well.

The problem for hospitals is that if the parking is cheep it will get used by everybody. The jump in cost at 6hrs is so that office workers won't park there for the whole day.

I take you point, but I guess thats where the special ticket for those who are only actually visiting people would come in handy, which Im sure Queen's doesnt have.

As an update though, I have today sent off 5 letters about the matter (I dont do things by halves... ) One each to the Local NHS trust and the parking services company (Sodexo), and then a copy of that same letter with a covering letter to Alan Johnson MP Secretary of State for Health, the local MP for Romford, and the Romford Recorder local rag. I thought the paper might be interested in a couple of words on it... Alhtough I doubt it. Worth a go though.

I also checked out my local hospital (Broomfield, in Chelmsford) parking charges aswell today, and noted that while they are slightly more expensive at the lower end of the scale, you only pay at most £6 for 8-24 hours stay. Bear in mind also, that this is a hospital with a very high reputation and the best burns unit in Europe. I also noticed that they scored higher in all but one category in the Healthcare commissions patient survey in November last year than Queen's (Ive done my homework. ). So lets see what they have to say about that.

Thanks for all the comments though folks. Really appreciate it.

Barneysmom

1-3 hrs:£1.60, 3-6 hrs:£3.10, and then anything over 6 hrs:£15.

What you need to do if possible is every 5 1/2 hours drive out of the car par and drive back in again.
I know it's a pain but you have to beat them at their own game, they are just ripping off sick people IMO.

Treadway1

Barneysmom wrote: »

1-3 hrs:£1.60, 3-6 hrs:£3.10, and then anything over 6 hrs:£15.

What you need to do if possible is every 5 1/2 hours drive out of the car par and drive back in again.
I know it's a pain but you have to beat them at their own game, they are just ripping off sick people IMO.

Yeh, I realise this now (Hindsights a great thing isnt it... ) but at the time, I didnt even think about parking and didnt want to leave my fathers bedside until I knew he was ok. It is an absolute liberty though, when you think that if someone were to leave every 6 hours, and then come back in immediately to restart the clock, they could stay for 24 hours at less than what it costs for just over six!!!