Is it me ? Hospital parking

lisyloo

*But* when you've got an appointment, or are otherwise seeking treatment - I just don't think its right...

So who do you think should pay for the land for you to park your private vehicle on?
Wouldn't it be more environmentally friendly and socially repronsible to go by public transport, bicycle or foot if you can (I know this is not possible for everyone and every place).

Not being nasty or anything just playing "devils advocate" to further the discussion :-)

santana-mx3

Amazingly enough, my local hospital has a free car park as well as a charged car park. Those willing and/or able to walk a bit further can make use of the free one if there is still space (which there has been whenever I have tried). It's not too far from A&E (but is not restricted to A&E parking - they have that too elsewhere) butis further for visiting the wards/outpatients. At first I didn't know about the free one and used to pay for the other one which has been known to swallow up my tokens without opening the barrier. If you've got to pay for car parking, I wish they would allow card payment as I rarely have any coins.

markan

My wife was in St Georges hospital in Tooting last year and the parking ran up to £20 a day! Given that you are visiting a seriously ill relative it really does wind you up. It's not even remotely likely that you will limit your visiting just to save money.

JimArnold

1 - should hospital staff declare their free parking as a taxable perk?
2 - the first hospital I came across with a pay car park was Reading - a week later Prince William (or was it Harry) got hit on the head at Eton and was admitted for 24 hours observation - do you think his visitors paid ?

honey

If I knew that the money for car parking in a hospital was going to a good cause within that hospital then I wouldn't mind.

But I don't think this is the case and therefore think it's wrong - it adds pressure to a lot of people who may already be going through a really tough time.

Another thing that bugs me is that our local hospital changed from ordinary paid meters to the ones where you need to enter part of your car reg to stop people from passing their ticket on! :mad:

ethansmum

I had to regularly go to hospital for emergency check ups due to high blood pressure in pregnancy. (Mind you I had to drive myself to hospital!) Anyway these unscheduled visits sometimes take up to a couple of hours while they monitor the baby. I would always get a ticket for 2 hours. I was told by the staff that if you put a reasonable amount of 'money in the meter' and then your appointment over ran you could just inform the parking attendant and you wouldn't have to pay any fines for underpayment. I was told this in the maternity ward and the childrens dept. I was also told that when I came in to have the baby, I should just write a note on the bashboard saying I was in labour and then I wouldn't have to pay for any parking charges. So I personally think that was a fair system.

aminchom

JimArnold wrote:

1 - should hospital staff declare their free parking as a taxable perk?
QUOTE]

I am a hospital doctor, I would love to declare my free parking as a perk, but I dont get any. I have to pay monthly from my paycheck to have a staff permit. So just to point out - the staff also have to pay

Becles

Our hospital has a "pay on foot" system where you get a ticket on entry and pay when you leave.

I think that works better than the old pay and display as if your appointment over runs or you want to spend longer with the patient you are visiting, you don't have to worry about feeding the meter.

I don't mind paying as the car is secure as you can only raise the exit barrier if you have the ticket given on entry and it's covered by both CCTV and a man sitting in a portacabin. After my Grandpa had his car stolen while visiting my Grandma in another hospital, I don't mind paying for peace of mind.

CrazyChemist_2

a lady got knocked unconcious by one of those barriers at our hospital after she got confused and for some reason decided to stand underneath it and wait till it slammed her on the head.

There's women's logic for ya!

Mumstheword

Our local hosp has two car parks, the furthest away being free. This is partly to deter staff from clogging up the on site car park, leaving space for outpatients and visitors. Obviously the charge needs to be high enough to deter anyone on a 12 hour shift, so can't be £1 or £2 for that length of time.

For longer stay patients, you can get a weekly pass which works out much cheaper for visiting, especially if you are going in twice a day!