Hospital Parking

bunking_off

Not really a way to save money, but a gripe about having to spend it.

At the moment, both my wife & my mother are in hospital (it never rains but pours, etc). To further complicate things, they're in different hospitals, 25 miles apart, which makes visiting time "interesting" - only a matter of time before I'm caught speeding between the two.

What really annoys me is the car parking fees imposed by the hospitals. One charges £1.50 for six hours, while the other charges £1.50 per visit. £1.50/6hrs doesn't seem so bad, but it's cunningly designed so that you can't achieve afternoon and evening visiting with one fee payment. Or, to put it another way, if I pop in for 10 minutes, that's still £1.50.

This means I'm currently paying £4.50/day to visit sick relatives. Neither hospital is anywhere near a town centre, so the fees aren't there to discourage casual parkers - they're there as a revenue stream. Visiting two hospitals in a constrained time using public transport is hardly an option.

I'm hopeful that my wife will only be in hospital for a few more days, but my mum will be in for many months to come....this all adds up.

The Government has called time on GPs profiteering by banning the use of 0870 numbers for their telephone lines - how about them doing something about hospitals profiteering from people with sick relatives?

Noozan

I know how you feel and it infuriates me! My mum has frequent hospital appointments and it's always a nightmare parking. We have to pay £1.50 for first 2 hours, then it goes up in increments to a maximum of 6 hours. If she's there for a dialysis appointment, either someone has to go out and top up the meter (car park is 7 - 8 minute brisk walk to hospital building) or we have to buy a weekly ticket at £12. Up until 6 months ago, we used to park in the retail park opposite the hospital as there's about 5 stores there, Homebase etc but they've introduced a new policy now where you can only park for two hours and they have people patrolling the car park and ask to look at till receipts from the stores (which annoys me too - maybe Iwe want to browse but not buy?!)

Also, the car park is an inadequate size in comparison to the size of the hospital so if you go around visiting time, there is ALWAYS a long queue waiting to park. Just to make matters worse, they have recently finished building a new training school and residential unit for junior doctors and nurses - there is no additional parking provided for them so it looks like there will be even more competition for parking spaces. :mad:

On the plus side, of all the hospitals I've been to in Scotland (so far, so touch wood!) I haven't yet had to pay to park.

nearlyrich

First of all hope your wife and Mum both make a speedy recovery and don't forget to look after yourself properly whilst you are rushing around doing all the visiting.

It is becoming more and more widespread that you have to pay to visit hospitals, they have made all the streets near our local hospital resident's parking only and even the nursing and other staff have to pay to park.

I was going to suggest asking about a weekly ticket but to be honest I don't think you should have to pay for at least the first hour.

I read somewhere about Wythenshaw Hospital in Manchester where they had to introduce parking fees beacuse people were leaving cars there and getting a cab to Manchester airport and going off on holiday for 2 weeks ( Great Moneysaving LOL)

Plasticman

My wife has been in hospital a lot recently too. Not only do I have to pay to visit when she is admitted to the hospital but we also have to pay when she goes to weekly outpatients appointments. This has been going on for the last 7 months so it's cost a fortune.

I'm happy to pay if I go once or twice to visit someone but it's my wife so I want to see her every day. Surely they could have a different system for regulars - a 'season ticket' maybe!!

surfergirl_3

Bunking off,

Hope your wife is better and out of hospital soon.

On the subject of your mum, enquire at the general office or reception about a tempory car park pass.I am sure these are available to the relatives of patients who are likely to be in hospital for some time.Normally you just need a letter from the ward sister to confirm this.

Hope this helps.

Bossyboots

One hospital near us issues passes if you are going to be visiting every day.

We have pay to park at our local hospital and they have now made it impossible to park around the residential streets. I understand the problem with commuters where our hospital is but they need a scheme like the one near my mother in law where you take your ticket to the clinic/ward you are visiting and you get a token to get out of the car park without having to pay.

It is not always practical to use public transport to visit hospitals. In April I have to go to another one near my mother in law. Last time I took her for an operation we drove round for 45 minutes trying to find a parking space and in the end my hubby had to get his boss to drive him to the hospital to collect my car, the plan being to pick me up later. Typically, just as they arrived I found a space but by this time MIL had had to go and book herself in.

Glad

I agree that hospitals should not be charging for parking, our hospital is near enough to the town that shoppers are using it for free parking, so paid parking is being brought in, the answer could be to have a pass if a regular visitor (but this would exclude casual one-off visitors) or to have to show your appt card if you are an outpatient but this would mean employing satff to manage the carparks,
they are also expecting staff to pay for parking at our Hospital, a monthly fee taken from our wages, I'm particularly annoyed at this as I work mainly nights so the carpark is virtually empty during my shift and they are expecting me to pay to park in it!!!!!

back to the original poster, your problem with dashing between 2 hospitals during visiting time could probably be solved by having a word with staff on the wards, explain your problem and ask if there is a convenient time outside normal visiting times when you could visit one of your relatives,

Sim_2

bunking_off wrote:

The Government has called time on GPs profiteering by banning the use of 0870 numbers for their telephone lines - how about them doing something about hospitals profiteering from people with sick relatives?

You will find very few Hospitals making a profit - check the current "debt" of you local hospitals. Controlled parking is often a planning stipulation of the local authority.

Sim

katiepops_2

glad wrote:

they are also expecting staff to pay for parking at our Hospital, a monthly fee taken from our wages, I'm particularly annoyed at this as I work mainly nights so the carpark is virtually empty during my shift and they are expecting me to pay to park in it!!!!!

Why shouldn't you pay to park in it if the daytime staff pay? We pay £25 for an annual parking permit at my hospital - but still I hear people bitterly moaning about the cost! The revenue they collect from the permit fees has paid for barriers and a swipe card entry/exit from the car park, security cameras and better lighting. Much better than when anyone could drive a car on and off the car park (this area was notorious for car theft in the past), there were no cameras and very poor lighting. I don't begrudge a single penny of what I pay, though I appreciate that other hospitals probably do charge a lot more for their permits.

Kate

bigmomma051204

hmm - i hate having to pay for parking at the best of times - but when ur ill or worried about about a family member/friend etc it just downright SUCKS lol... i recently worked out how much parking at local hospital has cost me & my mum in last year. I was pregnant and had to go to hosp. almost every day (4 the last 4 months) for scans as my baby never moved, i was admitted numerous times due to complications with pregnancy, i was in labour for 72 hours, had to stay in for 2 weeks after due to high blood pressure/caesarian probs, went home only to go back in a week later due to caesarian causing me to have a nr fatal (!!) pulmonary embolism and stayed in for 2 weeks again, then finally my mum was admitted for 3 weeks after having a serious head on collision with a van... And all this over x-mas period

Total Cost....

£723!!!!!!!!!

Guess its my fault for being so sickly LOL

Of course, one way to avoid some of these costs and "money-save" would be to simply not visit any friends or relatives in hospital... oh and obviously dont ever get ill??