Hospital visit just cost us £30

kenshaz

krisskross wrote:

Yes we do pay through National Insurance for our medical care. However N.I. does not cover car parking charges and either should it. I find it totally amazing that people expect everything to be free once they walk through a hospital gates....from pyjamas to toiletries to food and now car parking.

The hospital I used to work in did however provide free parking to relatives of very sick patients, wonder if the OP has discussed this possibility with the staff?

So you are an authority on the distribution of resources in the NHS,and you have come to the decision that does not cover car parking, it is not for sale,because it belongs to us.So you do not believe that patients shold eat or wash whilst in hospital,perhaps the family could bring in Butties,you are either an NHS employee or have never been sick ,do not count on the latter,you might lose

krisskross

kenshaz wrote:

So you are an authority on the distribution of resources in the NHS,and you have come to the decision that does not cover car parking, it is not for sale,because it belongs to us.So you do not believe that patients shold eat or wash whilst in hospital,perhaps the family could bring in Butties,you are either an NHS employee or have never been sick ,do not count on the latter,you might lose

I cannot recollect suggesting that I was an authority on NHS funding. Of course patients need to wash and eat whilst in hospital but there is no reason why the NHS funds these activities. Do people not need to eat or wash when not in hospital? I firmly believe that hotel charges should be levied so that all NHS funding is used for treatment of illnesses.

I said I was an NHS employee..does thay make me more or less able to comment? If your elderly relative was in hospital would you expect them to wear NHS nightwear or would you afford them the dignity of freshly laundered personal clothing? Would you expect them to use the shampoo and bath foam left by another patient or would you provide some of their own? I recollect a family making a formal complaint that their elderly father had not been shaved for the 2 days he had been an inpatient. When I went to shave him his locker was totally bare. We used to make up emergency packs with travel sized toiletries and a toothbrush and offer them at £1 whan a patient was admitted as an emergency. Hardly any relatives would buy them and 3 or 4 days later the poor patient was still toothbrushless.

Certainly if I was a lady with breast cancer desperate to be prescribed herceptin I would be angry if car parking fees were waived whilst I had to fight for a lifesaving treatment on grounds of cost.

mgardner

Voyager2002 wrote:

Why outrageous?

Supposing that you visited her by bus, would you expect to be let off the bus fare?

It costs a lot to provide car parks, money that could be (better?) spent on improved patient care. If you feel that the charges are unreasonably high, then there are plenty of other ways to move around, most of which would be healthier than driving.

Just be thankful that you don't have to pay for the treatment.

I am sure she would not expect to be let off busfare, She is already paying, petrol, car tax etc. She, like most of us it objecting to paying parking fees.
If her relative were to be taken to hospital by ambulance or other there would not be a parking fee. So this caring, responsible person is saving the tax payer money, so why should she be expected to pay.

italiastar

It's good to see that compassion exists here. It's not enough for Annieks Mother In Law to be in hospital and be mugged by the local council for £30 - she puts a post on here looking for some advice and moral support and some people just criticise. Please lets stick to the subject and not make posts personal - Rant Over

cheekymole

Here here italiastar, well said, isn't that why we're on the "vent" board after all?

trickytrolleys

It the rate of the charges that annoy me, very few people go to hospitalk for the fun of it!! I think all emergencies and long term patients should be free and visitors charged a more realistic amount.

Records not being updated has sod all to with underfunding, IMO, and far more to do with slack staff and also we pay for the NHS through tax not NI - thats for pensions!

twink

on a lighter note wouldnt the lottery money not be better going to the nhs then we would all benefit what do others think

cheekymole

I completely agree, Lotto money would be far better spent on something useful, like hospitals than the c**p it's spent on now

Hawksmuir

I work for a contractor who makes uplifts from hospital premisies, if we didn't the hospitals would close. What gets me is the number of people, NHS staff and visitors who park illegally (to save a pound) and block our access either in or out. Our drivers if they see them, ask them to move only to be met with a torrent of abuse and threats of violence.

Yes we understand you are going to work or going to see a relative, but we are trying to service the hospital.

If you are going to park at a hospital make sure its in a legal parking area, otherwise you could be causing untold problems to the effectiveness of the Hospital. Also think could a Fire engine get passed me, and remember if there is a call for the fire service to be there they will not wait till you move, they will just move your car for you.

kenshaz

mcelhinney wrote:

It the rate of the charges that annoy me, very few people go to hospitalk for the fun of it!! I think all emergencies and long term patients should be free and visitors charged a more realistic amount.

Records not being updated has sod all to with underfunding, IMO, and far more to do with slack staff and also we pay for the NHS through tax not NI - thats for pensions!

Sorry but you are wrong we pay for the NHS through national insurance ,that is why Gordon Brown increased to fund the recent expenditure,you have to contibiute to NI to qualify for a state pension