What happened to the free hospital parking for those who need it regularly pledge?

Clanderson

Hello,

Today I read that some hospitals have made parking free, and whilst I tried to look into it, I stumbled across this article on the gov.uk website posted in December: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/free-hospital-parking-for-thousands-of-patients-staff-and-carers

Aside from articles in newspapers at the time, I’ve not been able to find out any further information. My local hospital website makes no mention of the exceptions, so I wonder if it is the hospital’s decision whether they action this or not?

Fruitcake

Governments say a lot of things, but very little happens unless it involves MP's pay rises and expenses.

There was already a policy in place for several years about free parking for staff and visitors at hospitals, but many trusts just ignored them, and MPs have done nothing to enforce the policy.

We are still seeing PCNs being issued at hospital including staff and volunteers as well as patients. To paraphrase a previous campaign, free means free, not free to park but get an extortionate charge from an unregulated scammer later.

fisherjim

Our local hospital which was infested by UKPC removed all the pay machines last week.

Fruitcake

fisherjim said:

Our local hospital which was infested by UKPC removed all the pay machines last week.

But were UKPC removed as well, and will the PCNs stop?

twhitehousescat

Fruitcake said:

fisherjim said:

Our local hospital which was infested by UKPC removed all the pay machines last week.

But were UKPC removed as well, and will the PCNs stop?

no , just the meters , they prob still have boots on the ground issuing tickets for wheel over line etc 

Coupon-mad

A NHS Focus/Review group were meeting about the plans before lockdown and it included the BPA and IPC but of course, and no individual consumer campaigners.    I expect they are now loving their Zoom meetings and the NHS Trusts will be led up the garden path and convinced that some level of payment at some times of day will be 'necessary' and they'll all forget what the pledge was.

You can imagine what will happen in the end.  There was talk somewhere of watered down proposals like making parking free for certain groups AT CERTAIN TIMES, which will enable the industry to continue scamming people. 

Looks like staff will be expected to leave their wards if their stay crosses over the 'free time of day' and we can bet the mechanism to exempt your car will be cumbersome and hidden, and that anyone using a different car one day will be penalised and of course, knowing this industy PCNs won't be cancelled retrospectively (I am guessing).

As from people rushing into A&E with a dire emergency like a choking child, or others sitting with a dying relative or attending a birth - yep, they'll get a £100 PCN when the 'exempt time' runs out unless they go and pay, I expect.  If any terms can be twisted to be complicated and unfair on the public and staff at hospitals, parking firms will do so.  Signs will be as hidden as ever.

IMHO there should be NO parking firms at hospitals. They do nothing useful.

Fruitcake

My local hospital changed from hospital trust controlled free disabled areas, barrier controlled staff areas, and barrier controlled pay on leaving areas, to UKPC.

The UKPC scam-van was parked in a hospital doctor only parking bay whilst the weasel was installing scam signs, but sadly I didn't have a device for capturing images with me at the time. The weasel obviously had absolutely no respect for the NHS.

I made a special trip the following day with photographic engine to hand and took pictures of the typically awful scam signs, but sadly there was no sight of the scam-van.

I have never heard of a parking problem at this hospital and cannot think of a single reason why a scammer was introduced except greed.