Is it me ? Hospital parking

zz9pa
zz9pa Posts: 68 Forumite
First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker
in Praise, vent & warnings
They've put the car park fee up at the local hospital from £1 to £2..
I've had to take both sprogs in this week - so thats £4 i've had to shell out just to park. :mad:
(To make it worse, they were actually ahead of schedule the first time, so we were in and back out in 10 minutes - 20p a minute for parking :rolleyes: )

Then again - at least I'm not visiting someone everyday - that'd be £14 a week!
(and thats if you only visited once)...


So - am I just tight - or does anybody else think this is excessive ?
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Comments

  • Swan_2
    Swan_2 Posts: 7,060 Forumite
    any hospital parking fees are iniquitous, it's morally wrong & is putting more pressure upon people who are already stressed by illness of their own, or that of someone close to them

    cynical profiteering :mad:



    <wonders if private hospitals charge for parking?>
  • We_Laugh_Indoors
    We_Laugh_Indoors Posts: 981 Forumite
    the land the car parks are on does need to be paid for, and with hospitals seemingly struggling for money for day to day running i assume they are unable to get the government to subsidise their car parks.

    if the car parking was free then it would come from tax revenue.
    'What's poignancy grandad?'

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  • Toothsmith
    Toothsmith Posts: 10,074 Forumite
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    Swan wrote:
    cynical profiteering :mad:

    Cynical 'trying-to-make-ends-meet-in-a-hopelessly-underfunded-system'
    maybe. But 'Profiteering' is a bit strong! When did you last here of a hospital trust 'making' money. :rolleyes:
    How to find a dentist.
    1. Get recommendations from friends/family/neighbours/etc.
    2. Once you have a short-list, VISIT the practices - dont just phone. Go on the pretext of getting a Practice Leaflet.
    3. Assess the helpfulness of the staff and the level of the facilities.
    4. Only book initial appointment when you find a place you are happy with.
  • zz9pa
    zz9pa Posts: 68 Forumite
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    Underfunded my a***!

    They've just taken an extra 2% in national insurance!

    Massive amounts going in, massive amounts being wasted (my next door neighbour is a GP - you should hear whats going on just with the IT systems - money to burn apparently - get it while its hot)
  • Bendybops19
    Bendybops19 Posts: 11,212 Forumite
    Gp surgerys are often very different to hospitals and have completely different budgets.
    Hospitals on the other hand, do struggle. I agree that the parking fee's are excessive though, i had to go to a meeting at my local hospital the other day and it cost me nearly £6, but saying that, its less than some carparks for a day isnt it. But hospitals have got to find a way to be able to pay for the land the car parks on etc.
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  • Swan_2
    Swan_2 Posts: 7,060 Forumite
    <sees lid bulging on can o' worms>

    this is such a complex subject ...

    I do have mixed feelings about the parking issue, for instance I think that more people should use public transport, we have an excellent bus service to & from our local teaching hospital, but it's obviously not possible for everyone to make use of it

    said hospital didn't charge for parking when it opened 30 or so years ago
    granted NHS funding has changed radically in that time, & having worked for the hospital service, I can well understand their need for extra cash

    I could go on & on arguing with myself & end up tied in knots, but it wouldn't change my feeling very strongly that charging for hospital parking is wrong at a very fundamental level
  • Toothsmith
    Toothsmith Posts: 10,074 Forumite
    First Post Name Dropper First Anniversary
    zz9pa wrote:
    Underfunded my a***!

    They've just taken an extra 2% in national insurance!

    Massive amounts going in, massive amounts being wasted (my next door neighbour is a GP - you should hear whats going on just with the IT systems - money to burn apparently - get it while its hot)

    How money is being spent in healthcare IS NOT how the doctors & co would want it spent.

    The spending decisions are made by idiots with no clinical responsibility.

    Actual 'healthcare' is underfunded. The money is there for the politicians pet projects.
    How to find a dentist.
    1. Get recommendations from friends/family/neighbours/etc.
    2. Once you have a short-list, VISIT the practices - dont just phone. Go on the pretext of getting a Practice Leaflet.
    3. Assess the helpfulness of the staff and the level of the facilities.
    4. Only book initial appointment when you find a place you are happy with.
  • Annie_SW
    Annie_SW Posts: 69 Forumite
    My local hospital raised the charges because it was within walking distance of the town centre, and people were using in to park their cars for work, shopping trips etc.
  • zz9pa
    zz9pa Posts: 68 Forumite
    First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Annie - I can understand that - I can even (just about) understand being charged to visit people..

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

    Our ones just introduced 'tokens' to get out - so surely they could give these out to people when they've had their visit ?

    BTW - It was pure luck that I had the extra £1 on me on wednesday - I'd 'borrowed' £1 from the wife for parking (as thats what it used to be), then had £1.50 to pay for a lunch for No1 daughter (just ate at home instead)..
  • IvanOpinion
    IvanOpinion Posts: 22,181 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Post Combo Breaker First Anniversary
    In some cases the car parks attached to hospitals are run by private companies. I was once told that they rent the land from the health service and then they claim whatever the heck they like for it (within reason). IN some cases this is done because the hospital is sick of having to handle various 'claims' due to damage to cars (caused by others) and therefore to get their insurance down they have basically pawned the liability off to someone else; another reason is that some people have used hospital car parks as a means of catching public transport simply because they are often cheaper than other car parks.

    I don't see it as immoral or profiteering - more just one of those new fangled things that we have in our modern day way of life. Is it fair .. if you don't like it then you don't have to use it ... park elsewhere and walk or catch a bus to it.

    Ivan
    Past caring about first world problems.
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