A hospital Chief Exec. who believes the disabled a cheats.

denchys

Thought some of you might like to see this report from the Express and Star in Wolverhampton this week. I am particulary impressed by the caring comments from the Chief Executive about disabled badge holders. Isn't it nice to have everyone roped in to the same bigeted opinion?
At least this hospital does have a gate system so you pay on leaving so ACPOA have less opputunity to charge sick people for overstays etc.


Parking charges at Wolverhampton’s New Cross Hospital are being doubled for short-stay visitors as part of plans to bring in an extra £1.5 million a year, while free parking for disabled people is being axed.
From today drivers will have to pay £2 to park between 15 minutes and an hour on site – double the current £1 charge.
It comes just months after bosses at the Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals Trust, which is trying to save £15m by March next year, hiked up prices for longer stays by up to 50 per cent.
Chief executive David Loughton also revealed plans this week to charge staff up to £252 a year to park on-site, when previously workers could park for free.
He said today increases, which will also apply to disabled blue badge holders on the hospital’s 1,800-space car park, would bring in an estimated £1.5m.
Mr Loughton said: “I know it will be unpopular, but I have to save millions of pounds and I am trying to do it without directly affecting frontline services.
“I cannot keep building more and more car parking spaces. What I am trying to do is encourage people to use public transport to get here instead.
“People will say disabled people find it more difficult than others to use public transport, but there is widescale abuse of disabled parking badges.
“I see some people park outside my office in a disabled space and they can walk across the car park faster than I can.”
Nearby residents have raised fears the move could mean more people park in the surrounding streets.
Heath Town ward councillor Milkinder Jaspal, who has campaigned for action on behalf of residents over the issue, said: “I think it will be very detrimental to the surrounding areas. Already people park outside residents’ homes instead of paying to stay on the public car park.”
Fees for longer stays went up in February. Instead of £2 for two hours, visitors now pay £3 – a 50 per cent increase – while people staying for up to four hours pay £4 instead of £3 – a rise of 33 per cent.


Read more: http://www.expressandstar.com/news/2012/09/03/new-cross-hospital-parking-charges-double/#ixzz25V23ARhQ

pickpocketlocket

No, he did not say "the disabled a cheats", he said there is "widescale abuse of disabled parking badges". There is a big difference between the two statements!

I don't understand why people expect hospital parking to be free. Would you really rather see budgets allocated to car parks than treatment?

ManxRed

So because he's seen some people abusing blue badges, he wants to penalise ALL blue badge holders, including the genuine ones?

What a pr*ck.

Hope he falls foul of the Equality Act at some point and somone calls him on it.

pickpocketlocket

ManxRed wrote: »

So because he's seen some people abusing blue badges, he wants to penalise ALL blue badge holders, including the genuine ones?

What a pr*ck.

Hope he falls foul of the Equality Act at some point and somone calls him on it.

Where does the Equality Act state that disabled people should have free parking? Having to pay does not put them at a substantial disadvantage to others, in fact it puts them on a level playing field.

taffy056

pickpocketlocket wrote: »

No, he did not say "the disabled a cheats", he said there is "widescale abuse of disabled parking badges". There is a big difference between the two statements!

I don't understand why people expect hospital parking to be free. Would you really rather see budgets allocated to car parks than treatment?

Why , well because its a tax on the sick and their visitors that is why ! We pay enough taxes to ensure that the NHS offers frontline medical care for all, taxing people in addition to that is despicable. Parking by the way is free in hospitals in Wales for staff and visitors, if they can do it, so can hospitals in England! Funding should be made available to allow free parking on site from the Government.

Its all good that this person is saying use public transport, but its pretty awkward thing to do if you are in a wheelchair, or on crutches, or maybe very elderly. Using public transport is often very expensive if used frequently and does not in my experience run from one area directly to the hospital, which means you have to change buses maybe 2 or 3 times.

I am sick and tired of NHS trusts that are funded by us, using an excuse of cutting funding elsewhere and using scaremongering tactics to pass through things like this.

pickpocketlocket

taffy056 wrote: »

Why , well because its a tax on the sick and their visitors that is why ! We pay enough taxes to ensure that the NHS offers frontline medical care for all, taxing people in addition to that is despicable. Parking by the way is free in hospitals in Wales for staff and visitors, if they can do it, so can hospitals in England! Funding should be made available to allow free parking on site from the Government.

Its all good that this person is saying use public transport, but its pretty awkward thing to do if you are in a wheelchair, or on crutches, or maybe very elderly. Using public transport is often very expensive if used frequently and does not in my experience run from one area directly to the hospital, which means you have to change buses maybe 2 or 3 times.

I am sick and tired of NHS trusts that are funded by us, using an excuse of cutting funding elsewhere and using scaremongering tactics to pass through things like this.

What a fantastic idea - now please let us (and the NHS) know where this funding is going to come from? You're ok to go without vital healthcare services so you can have a parking space, yes? :rotfl:

taffy056

pickpocketlocket wrote: »

Where does the Equality Act state that disabled people should have free parking? Having to pay does not put them at a substantial disadvantage to others, in fact it puts them on a level playing field.

Where does it say in the blue badge terms that it applies to private land? The answer it doesn't!

ManxRed

pickpocketlocket wrote: »

Where does the Equality Act state that disabled people should have free parking? Having to pay does not put them at a substantial disadvantage to others, in fact it puts them on a level playing field.

It doesn't, but the charges aren't the only thing he's talking about. If you read it again, he's raising the charges to encourage more people - the disabled included - to use public transport instead. He mentions that it shouldn't be any more difficult for disabled people to use public transport based on his observations of blue badge abusers who can get across the car park quicker than him.

Read the article again.

peteb74

its all very well to say that parking is free at hospitals in Wales but eventually the money for that has to come from somewhere

taffy056

pickpocketlocket wrote: »

What a fantastic idea - now please let us (and the NHS) know where this funding is going to come from? You're ok to go without vital healthcare services so you can have a parking space, yes? :rotfl:

You are just using the same logic as this person in the NHS trust, you are not him by any chance? And I have just told you where the funding should come from, perhaps if you read my response fully you would see it!!

The_Slithy_Tove

ManxRed wrote: »

If you read it again, he's raising the charges to encourage more people - the disabled included - to use public transport instead.

I wonder how he gets to work each day? I bet he doesn't take the bus.