Wise Parking QE Hospital drop off area night time PCN

Coupon-mad

Isn't it the case that there were NO contractual terms relating to picking up patients?  That's what to say. I hope you attached/uploaded the signage evidence already?

cesurman

Coupon-mad said:

Isn't it the case that there were NO contractual terms relating to picking up patients?  That's what to say. I hope you attached/uploaded the signage evidence already?

Yes uploaded it. They responded with their version with the blue signage which doesn't form a contract I believe.

Half_way

The term Drive must stay in vehicle is unworkable nonsense at an A and E site, or even a hospital.

 If you are dropping someone off at A and E odds on that person being dropped off wont be in the best state of health and will need help and assitance , and that initial help will most  likely be from the driver .

 likewise when leaving a hospital the person who is recovering will need some help and assistance

There could be an equallity act issue at play here if a care giver is being discrimminated against by the Hospitals ill thought out parking policy and enfarcement

Jenni_D

Half_way said:

The term Drive must stay in vehicle is unworkable nonsense at an A and E site, or even a hospital.

 If you are dropping someone off at A and E odds on that person being dropped off wont be in the best state of health and will need help and assitance , and that initial help will most  likely be from the driver .

 likewise when leaving a hospital the person who is recovering will need some help and assistance

There could be an equallity act issue at play here if a care giver is being discrimminated against by the Hospitals ill thought out parking policy and enfarcement

Deliberate use, or apt typo?  

Half_way

Bit of both, theres another typo at the start where it should say the Driver instead of the Drive must stay, but will leave it.

 

One thing however, this parking scheme is wholly inapropiate for a Hospital setting and needs to be challenged/stopped.

 People attending Hospitals and their care givers are not exactly in the best state of mind, and schemes like this prey on the vulnerable .

While its easy to go for the PPC the Hospital execs and those who approved this so called pakring company need to be the ones in the firing line over this debacle

Coupon-mad

Agreed - but the OP needs to know that the IAS (supposedly 'adjudicated' - LOL - by a solicitor) won't give two hoots about that.

Which is why we've suggested the legal point that the sign doesn't state ANY terms or obligations (or charges) relating to pick ups.

cesurman

On the hospital side, the Executive Assistant to CEO and Trust Chair managed to forward my complaint I sent to the CEO to LG.ComplaintsTeam@nhs.net after 11 days.

cesurman

cesurman said:

Pals responded with a message suggesting to contact the Parliamentary and Health ombudsman service.

 On the other hand, my MP contacted Wise parking and forwarded me their response:

 Dear Clive Efford, The details you have submitted to us are partially correct. There is more than one condition of parking at the Drop Off area at Queen Elizabeth Hospital. The reason the Parking Charge was issued is due to the vehicle being left unattended, where the signage clearly states the driver must remain with the vehicle at all times. The evidence provided by the parking attendant clearly showed the vehicle was left unattended, as does the testimony you have shared, so this would show the parking charge was issued correctly. All our signs (a copy of which is below) and the signage plan had been audited by the IPC as being suitable and correctly positioned, and PALS (the hospitals complaints team) are mentioned as being unhelpful, which I have never seen, but they do understand that Wise Parking need to handle complaints so I would expect they directed the driver to ourselves. Although we do have sympathy with anyone needing to park within a hospital, it is imperative we follow the correct process for all users as we need to be shown to be fair to all. As this parking charge was properly issued, the appeal they submitted to us has been declined. Within the appeal reply, the driver has been advised they can apply to the Independent Appeals Service if they disagree with our decision, which they have not yet done. [Embedded Image] I hope that brings some clarity to the situation and explains the correct actions the driver may take in contacting the Independent Appeals Service as detailed on their appeal response. There would have been plenty of space in any of the paid for public car parks at this time of night, which is where the driver really should have parked and just paid the small associated fee. If I can be of further assistance, please do let me know. Best regards


 WISE attached an image instructing drivers not to leave their cars whe dropping of patients. I requested my MP to elaborate on that in addition to the consideration to be made when picking up patients in extraordinary situations.

Wise's new response to Clive Efford, MP:

Hello Clive,
 
When picking up from the hospital it would be expected that people would use the public parking area if they do not know how long they would be and pay the tariff accordingly. Once they know when the person is available to be picked up, they would be welcomed to visit the patient drop off area to collect that person, assuming they did not take over 10 minutes, and did not leave their vehicle unattended.
 
The assumption made by Mr Demir that picking up is different from dropping off would be a pedantic point which shows that as they were ‘not dropping off’, the parking charge was correctly issued, as parking is for Patient drop-off only. This is not why the parking charge was issued though, but by his admission it could have been.
 
Back to the point - due to the large volume of traffic at Queen Elizabeth Hospital it is essential to keep these essential arteries flowing as they should, and we issue parking charges when there is a clear breach of the terms of parking as in this case. There is no reason to consider cancelling this charge, so it will stand.
 
I hope you understand we need to be consistent in our approach and are being so with this response.
 
Best regards

Arrogant people!

Coupon-mad

Send that to the CEO of the NHS Trust and ask whether they support this view, and how exactly is a driver meant not to leave the car unattended if they ARE allowed ten minutes to pick up or drop off a vulnerable patient who needs escorting?

Say the same to your MP and ask him to ask 'WISE' why they are breaching the IPC Code of Practice re the mandatory 5 minute consideration period?

Fruitcake

cesurman said:

Wise's new response to Clive Efford, MP:

The assumption made by Mr Demir that picking up is different from dropping off would be a pedantic point which shows that as they were ‘not dropping off’, the parking charge was correctly issued, as parking is for Patient drop-off only. This is not why the parking charge was issued though, but by his admission it could have been.
 

 
Best regards

Arrogant people!

The law is a pedant. The Ts and Cs displayed on the signs ONLY APPLY to someone who was dropping off. It's their wording on their signs, so they should be fully aware of this.

They have admitted that the motorist was not dropping off, therefore they must agree that their Ts and Cs cannot apply under any other circumstances. You cannot agree to a contract that does not apply.

That would be like being penalised because you drove out of a car park that had a sign saying Exit Only and also had a sign saying No Entry with a list of charges if you disobeyed the No Entry sign.
You did not breach the terms stated on the Exit Only sign because there were no other Ts and Cs. You did the exact opposite of what the No Entry sign said.