R2OK! Forum Index R2OK!
Contact R2OK! admin

Click here for R2OK! Website


 
 FAQFAQ   SearchSearch   MemberlistMemberlist   UsergroupsUsergroups   RegisterRegister 
 ProfileProfile   Log in to check your private messagesLog in to check your private messages   Log inLog in 

Hospital Car Parks Make Millions

 
Post new topic   Reply to topic    R2OK! Forum Index -> News and Current Affairs
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
mark occomore



Joined: 07 Dec 2006
Posts: 9955
Location: UK

PostPosted: Mon Mar 19, 2007 10:05 pm    Post subject: Hospital Car Parks Make Millions Reply with quote

Campaigners say the money made by NHS trusts from car parking charges is shameful as some trusts' income tops £2m a year.

Southampton University Hospitals - £2.41m
Cambridge University Hospitals - £2.26m
Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals - £1.72m
Norfolk and Norwich - £1.71m
East Kent Hospitals - £1.68m


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6468251.stm

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It's been going on for years, but a disgrace. If they are making millions then why is Crawley hospital car park so small?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
iwarburton



Joined: 08 Dec 2006
Posts: 2133
Location: Northumberland

PostPosted: Tue Mar 20, 2007 11:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

This is an absolute scandal. My second grandson, born on 2 March, was in hospital for the first 16 days of his life. He's now home and doing fine but it has cost my son a small fortune to park at the two hospitals involved and nothing was said about any exemptions. We too have been absolutely fleeced on our frequent visits. Of course the visits were well worthwhile but to rip off sick people and their relatives is in my view quite immoral.

Ian.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Cherskiy



Joined: 08 Dec 2006
Posts: 3701
Location: near Amble, Northumberland

PostPosted: Tue Mar 20, 2007 8:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Some hospitals and NHS trusts (and I emphasis 'some') will reimburse travelling costs and parking charges for travel to hospital for NHS treatment, providing you have an HC2 or HC3 Low Income Scheme charges certificate - and may pay the travel costs for an escort if one is needed. However, despite what the certificates say someone is entitled to, it's up to the individual hospital or trust to decide what to pay out for travelling - either what the patient has paid, what they think is reasonable for the journey (i.e. bus fare, even when the patient has had to take a taxi) or in some cases, nothing at all - especially if there's a budget squeeze.

There is no help for visiting relatives, unfortunately through this scheme - though the Social Fund may be able to help those on benefits.
_________________
Author: “To the Ends of the Earth: A Snapshot of Aviation in North-Eastern Siberia, Summer 1992”
(Free to read via Kindle Unlimited)
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Barkingbiker



Joined: 11 Dec 2006
Posts: 2313
Location: Lincolnshire

PostPosted: Tue Mar 20, 2007 10:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I think this an absolute rip off, when you have a loved family member that is seriously ill and you live in an area like rural Lincolnshire you have no alternative but to drive to and from hospital to visit and then pay an expensive parking fee. We own the land, it's ours, so why should we have to pay to park there, it's just more stealth tax. I recently had to deliver a medical appliance for servicing, £2:50 parking for 5 minutes to drop it off at reception and the same to pick it up the next day, robbery! My brother recently died from cancer, he was at the hospital every day for 6 weeks receiving chemo & radio therapy and had to pay up to £10 a day parking, yet when he was at the private hospice, parking was free. Evil or Very Mad

BB Twisted Evil
_________________
Old Bikers Never Die, our leathers just get tighter!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Behind Geddon's Wall



Joined: 11 Dec 2006
Posts: 1553
Location: Kingston Upon Hull/ The Cloud Factory

PostPosted: Wed Mar 21, 2007 9:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

That is the real scandal of the NHS - not some soundbite from a spring conference that no-one would otherwise take seriously.
_________________
Geddon

You simply mustn't blame yourself -- the days were perfect
And so were exactly what I was born to spoil
For I am the Rider to the World's End
Bound across the cinder causeway
From the furnace to the quarry
Through the fields of oil
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
iwarburton



Joined: 08 Dec 2006
Posts: 2133
Location: Northumberland

PostPosted: Wed Mar 21, 2007 1:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I must partially correct what I said yesterday. Apparently at one of the two hospitals my son was given a voucher for free parking but at the second one he had to pay the full whack, with the usual threats of wheelclamping. And there were no exemptions for visitors at either place. Still a poor show overall.

Ian.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Barkingbiker



Joined: 11 Dec 2006
Posts: 2313
Location: Lincolnshire

PostPosted: Wed Mar 21, 2007 9:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Another problem with hospital parking is disabled slots. My wife is registered disabled and when we were at Lincoln hospital all the disabled parking slots were full, however, more than half the vehicles parking in these slots were not displaying the disabled badge. I went to the hospital reception and asked if the company running the car park could do something about the problem, we were told that they are only there to ensure non-payers or over stayers are caught. What is the point in having disabled slots if any able bodied driver can use them with impunity?

BB Twisted Evil
_________________
Old Bikers Never Die, our leathers just get tighter!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Ella Sailyour



Joined: 11 Dec 2006
Posts: 579
Location: Marbella, Spain

PostPosted: Wed Mar 21, 2007 10:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

My mother is registered disabled (severe osteoporosis and arthritic joints) and she had extreme difficulty walking more than a few yards. The fact that so many selfish, lazy, stupid morons choose to park in disabled bays without the appropriate badge is an invitation for people to do what I do - I park behind them.

Ella
_________________
This week's $64,000 question: Why am I so gorgeous, possums?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
treasure



Joined: 27 Feb 2007
Posts: 133
Location: over the rainbow

PostPosted: Sun Mar 25, 2007 11:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Had to go to my local hospital (awful place) for x-rays on Friday...2 pound 30 to park for four hours... Confused I was only there for an hour so the potential income for that space is considerable ( you do the maths), someone else drove into it as I pulled out and presumably paid the same as me so that's 4 pound 60 earned in an hour Begs the question...why no short stay (eg 2 hours for those with appointments) spaces at a reduced rate? Shocked
And to cap it all...there was a traffic survey under way asking if a 'phone and book a parking place' scheme would be a good idea. What a ludicrous idea. What would it cost to run and how would it work. My flabber has never been so gasted... Rolling Eyes
_________________
treasure

Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
idcowden



Joined: 19 Dec 2006
Posts: 67

PostPosted: Wed Mar 28, 2007 12:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Actually £2.30 is quite cheap. I have spent a lot of time visiting my wife at St Georges Hospital in tooting. You can pay a princely sum of £2 per hour to park in the hospital (max charge £12) or pay £1.50 per hour and park in the street outside.

I'd like to see Trusts change the parking so that you pay for what you use rather than playing guess how late the Consultant is running, and putting measures in place so that vital visits (e.g. going to A&E or visiting very sick relative) are not charged. I have no problem paying a couple of quid to park for a minor outpatients appointment but I do have a problem in having to put 3 hours worth in the machine as I don't know how long it will take.

Interestingly only one hospital in the whole of scotland has pay parking...
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Rachel
Guest





PostPosted: Wed Mar 28, 2007 12:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Maybe it would be better to get public transport or a taxi to hospital, for visiting. Land is hugely expensive, it would be better used for more hospital facilities or sold off for housing, than for visitors to park their gas guzzelers on.
Back to top
nod



Joined: 24 Dec 2006
Posts: 3558

PostPosted: Wed Mar 28, 2007 1:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Rachel wrote:
Maybe it would be better to get public transport or a taxi to hospital, for visiting. Land is hugely expensive, it would be better used for more hospital facilities or sold off for housing, than for visitors to park their gas guzzelers on.


You're having a laugh ?, our hospital is 35 miles away, try doing that on buses etc twice a day for a period. Confused
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Rachel
Guest





PostPosted: Wed Mar 28, 2007 1:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

nod wrote:
Rachel wrote:
Maybe it would be better to get public transport or a taxi to hospital, for visiting. Land is hugely expensive, it would be better used for more hospital facilities or sold off for housing, than for visitors to park their gas guzzelers on.


You're having a laugh ?, our hospital is 35 miles away, try doing that on buses etc twice a day for a period. Confused


Twice a day! Blimey I'd rent a house next to the hospital.. that's gotta be cheaper. Come to think of it, if it wasn't for hospital car parks a number of visitors residences could be built for the families of long term patients with large distances to travel.

The idea though that you should be able to drive your car ( I don't just mean you nod) all the way to the hospital door and then park it there, is typical of the way the car has become "what is important", when really it isn't important at all. What is important about hospitals is making ill/sick/injured people better. You could park a little way from the hospital (probably free) and get a bus, walk or taxi.
Back to top
nod



Joined: 24 Dec 2006
Posts: 3558

PostPosted: Wed Mar 28, 2007 1:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

"You could park a little way from the hospital (probably free) and get a bus, walk or taxi."


Laughing Laughing Laughing

You must live in Utopia.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Rachel
Guest





PostPosted: Wed Mar 28, 2007 1:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

nod wrote:
"You could park a little way from the hospital (probably free) and get a bus, walk or taxi."


Laughing Laughing Laughing

You must live in Utopia.


No, just Dorset. Smile..

What if you didn't have a car or couldn't drive. How would you get to hospital then?
Back to top
nod



Joined: 24 Dec 2006
Posts: 3558

PostPosted: Wed Mar 28, 2007 1:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ambulance, I went in one last week !
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Rachel
Guest





PostPosted: Wed Mar 28, 2007 1:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Oh you're a patient? That's different. A small free car park for outpatients, should be available (if there is room)

Do you not have a charitable Hospital car service in your area?
Back to top
nod



Joined: 24 Dec 2006
Posts: 3558

PostPosted: Wed Mar 28, 2007 1:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yes we have a voluntary car service.

I still think visitors are ripped off, they close cottage hospitals forcing people to travel for miles to visit relatives etc in hospital and then charge them for parking Confused
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Rachel
Guest





PostPosted: Wed Mar 28, 2007 2:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ive just looked up the chrages for the carparks at my local hospital and the charges for the local town car-parks .. one of which is less than 2 minutes walk away from the Hospital car park.

Hospital Charges
1 hour - £1.50
2 hours- £2.00
4 hours- £4.00
all day- £6.00

Town Car Park
1-hour 60p
3- hours £1.60
All day - £3.00


Does seem like a rip off to park at the hospital, especially as there's a bus , every 15 minutes from the main town car park and is only 20p return to the hospital door, or you can walk from the nearest town car park in a few minutes.
Back to top
nod



Joined: 24 Dec 2006
Posts: 3558

PostPosted: Wed Mar 28, 2007 2:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I think there's a principle here. I am happy to pay to use town carparks if required to go shopping etc., BUT I have paid for the hospital through my taxes, I don't expect them to make a profit out of my or my relatives misfortune of being ill. It's supposed to be free at the point of delivery.

I don't want to drive for 35 miles and then get a bus, and what do I do with my 80 year old mother etc who isn't very mobile. And then you have the hassle of having to do this twice a day at visiting times.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Rachel
Guest





PostPosted: Wed Mar 28, 2007 2:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hospitals are not obliged to provide car parking for anyone, many do because they have the space to do so. The taxes that all of us pay is used fund the hospitals, their staff, and the treatments that they provide. Tax payers money ( in a, why should I pay for you to park your car kind of way) shouldn't be used to provide car parking spaces because they are not part of the " free at point of delivery medical treatment". If hospitals have the room to provide a car park, then it's only right that those who use them should foot the bill, especially as there are many alternatives for visitors, other than driving to the hospital. A car parking space is not a right but if people want to park right outside the hospital door then, good on the hospitals for recognising that people are prepared to pay to park and complain about it, rather than to walk a few hundred yards from where they can park more cheaply or even free.
Back to top
Ella Sailyour



Joined: 11 Dec 2006
Posts: 579
Location: Marbella, Spain

PostPosted: Wed Mar 28, 2007 2:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Rachel wrote:
If hospitals have the room to provide a car park, then it's only right that those who use them should foot the bill, especially as there are many alternatives for visitors, other than driving to the hospital.


Not where I live there aren't!

LG
_________________
This week's $64,000 question: Why am I so gorgeous, possums?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
nod



Joined: 24 Dec 2006
Posts: 3558

PostPosted: Wed Mar 28, 2007 3:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ella Sailyour wrote:
Rachel wrote:
If hospitals have the room to provide a car park, then it's only right that those who use them should foot the bill, especially as there are many alternatives for visitors, other than driving to the hospital.


Not where I live there aren't!

LG


Not where I live either (that isn't Marbella either). In some areas we need cars to get around because there simply isn't suitabel public transport.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Rachel
Guest





PostPosted: Wed Mar 28, 2007 3:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

nod wrote:
Ella Sailyour wrote:
Rachel wrote:
If hospitals have the room to provide a car park, then it's only right that those who use them should foot the bill, especially as there are many alternatives for visitors, other than driving to the hospital.


Not where I live there aren't!

LG


Not where I live either (that isn't Marbella either). In some areas we need cars to get around because there simply isn't suitabel public transport.


Suitable? You mean there is public transport but for some reason you can't use it? There's always going to be some people who are special cases but generally speaking- hospitals are right to charge visitors for car-parking. If there is genuine reason for someone not being able to pay the charges or use public transport then there are other avenues available to persue to make sure that they can get to the hospital as and when required and free if need be. It's like walking from the town car park - just takes a little effort.
Back to top
nod



Joined: 24 Dec 2006
Posts: 3558

PostPosted: Wed Mar 28, 2007 3:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

"hospitals are right to charge visitors for car-parking"

I don't believe they should profit from this, and I don't agree with them milking patients etc for the TV and phone services either.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Rachel
Guest





PostPosted: Wed Mar 28, 2007 4:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I don't think they spent the profit on a big Christmas Party. Very Happy
Back to top
iwarburton



Joined: 08 Dec 2006
Posts: 2133
Location: Northumberland

PostPosted: Wed Mar 28, 2007 8:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Unfortunately my grandson had to go back into hospital but is progressing well now. It costs £1 per hour to use the car park. Staff can currently park for £1 per day but one of the nurses told me that from 1 April that will become £1 per hour. So they'll have to pay £13 to park when they work a long shift. Should do wonders for recruitment. Or probably more people will attempt to park in the streets around the hospital, adding to the already considerable congestion there.

Ian.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Ella Sailyour



Joined: 11 Dec 2006
Posts: 579
Location: Marbella, Spain

PostPosted: Wed Mar 28, 2007 9:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Rachel wrote:
hospitals are right to charge visitors for car-parking.


I don't know of a single large (or small) hospital in Spain that charges for parking. And the hospitals are very, very good in most cases!

Ella
_________________
This week's $64,000 question: Why am I so gorgeous, possums?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Barkingbiker



Joined: 11 Dec 2006
Posts: 2313
Location: Lincolnshire

PostPosted: Wed Mar 28, 2007 9:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I don't know where you live most of the time Rachel, but here in rural Lincolnshire the nearest hospital to the town we live in is 16 miles away and the public transport is terrible. Depending on what treatment is required we have to travel to Lincoln, Boston, Grantham, Newark, Nottingham or Leicester. The use of public transport is almost impossible with travelling times between 2 and 5 hours each way, with in most cases no direct route, this necessitates several changes. So you think it is just and acceptable to have to pay up to £10 per day parking fees at the hospital when visiting for radio/chemo therapy, every day for up to 6 weeks. Or when you are sat bedside in ICU hoping and praying that your loved one will make it, and when you get back to the car park to pay more parking fees you find a parking ticket on the windscreen, or that your car has been clamped. Then, as the parking is sub contracted to a private company the hospital/PCT cannot or will not do anything other than explain that you have to go through the company responsible for parking control. These hospital car parks are public property and I accept that visitors should pay a reasonable fee to cover running costs only, but why are we being ripped off with these outrageous charges. In an area where the average wage is less than £10000 a year, I don't think the PCT managers understand that the average patient/visitor cannot afford, but have no alternative, but to pay these parking charges. As for the flippant remark that the profits are not being spent on a big Christmas party, I will treat with the contempt it deserves.

BB Twisted Evil
_________________
Old Bikers Never Die, our leathers just get tighter!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Rachel
Guest





PostPosted: Thu Mar 29, 2007 7:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I live in rural Dorset most of the time, except when I'm working: the hospitals here charge for the car parking but we have fantastic bus services, a really good hospital car service and lots of "free", in the street car parking within a short walk from the hospital.

The thing with hospital car parks. Wouldn't it be great if they were free? Yep. I agree. But if they were free, you'd never get a space, they'd be full to bursting, all day, every day, with cars owned by people with the early appointments, who would think.. I'll just leave the car here and pop into town for a spot of shopping or visit a relative or whatever, it's just one car it won't matter...and other people who would just blatantly use the free hospital car park and not have any business at the hospital at all. So what's the answer? The hospital has to spend "patient care money" to police the car park: Great idea! you can park at the hospital free when you get there but when you arrive for your appointment there's no Doctor, they have half a dozen car park attendants instead. So ok, let's think about this: how can we offset the cost of policing the car park? Well; we could charge for the parking to cover the costs of the attendants... ok so what's the cost, how much do we need to charge per hour to cover the attendants? ... ... quick calculation... 10p an hour... great lets do that! But that's really cheap, the blatant car park dwellers will just pay the low rate rather than the higher rate in town and visitors may still just leave their car there and go off on other business after they've been to the hospital and worse than that, they'd feel that it was ok to do that because they'd paid for the space. So, we bring in clamping? Yeah we could but you can't clamp a car that has a valid ticket and if they've paid 80p for all day then there's nothing we can do. Eureka ... why don't we charge more than the local car parks, then the hospital car park won't be attractive to the casual space dweller and the people on hospital business won't hang around when they've finished at the hospital- result ... there's usually always a space available for people on hospital business..... and that is the nub of the matter. The high charges make it almost certain that you will get a space.

You have to look at the problem in a different way to get to the right answer, treating the symptom isn't going to cure the problem, the real problem, is that public transport is rubbish and people believe that to be the case, many times, without investigating the real situation, we are all stuck in the thought that, "I must be able to drive my car anywhere I want/need to go".

The hospitals are trying to make sure, in the only way that they can, that spaces are available for those who need them when attending or visiting the hospital without using patient care funds. If you're a patient/outpatient it's free ( well it is in Dorset). Visitors (unless they are disabled - and can park free) are certainly, if fit enough to drive many miles to the hospital several times a day, more than able to park a distance away and walk there, having found a free parking space. Walk!! When I could drive. Never.

As far as I can determine, here in Dorset anyway, the profits from the car park are poured directly into patient care.
Back to top
nod



Joined: 24 Dec 2006
Posts: 3558

PostPosted: Thu Mar 29, 2007 10:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

"the profits from the car park are poured directly into patient care."

I bet it's paying for PCT managers.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
quickssandra



Joined: 10 Dec 2006
Posts: 158
Location: Scotland

PostPosted: Thu Mar 29, 2007 11:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Rachel,

Remember hospital car parks used to be free, I can't ever remember having a problem parking then!

To get to our nominated hospital involves a 40 minute car journey, or 3 buses which only run hourly at most. Most of the time it's A & E we need, (children!). I'd rather not try to sit a hurt child on a bus, would you?

I once had to rush one of the boys to hospital, went without my bag, so no money for a car parking space. Luckily my husband arrived minutes after me from work, and paid for my space and his! (He was coming in the other direction from us).

Our hospitals aren't anywhere near town, you'd need to get a bus to get there!

When I was visiting my father in hospital last year, I was amazed to find how much they charged for the use of TV and a phone! I still think that's why they don't allow mobiles in hospitals, it's nothing to do with affecting equipment, it's so they can charge exorbitant fees to use their phones! He is registered disabled by the way, and I couldn't find a space free when I went to pick him up, late on in the evening....

QS
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Rachel
Guest





PostPosted: Thu Mar 29, 2007 11:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

quickssandra wrote:
Rachel,

Remember hospital car parks used to be free, I can't ever remember having a problem parking then!


QS


Sandra,

yep I can remember that too but that was when there were a lot fewer cars and many more (smaller) hospitals. I don't know what the answer is.

Maybe try a different Government, one that is upfront about taxation rather than all the back door stuff this Government is so keen on. It's quite possible that they are all the same though.
Back to top
Ella Sailyour



Joined: 11 Dec 2006
Posts: 579
Location: Marbella, Spain

PostPosted: Thu Mar 29, 2007 12:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

quickssandra wrote:
I still think that's why they don't allow mobiles in hospitals, it's nothing to do with affecting equipment, it's so they can charge exorbitant fees to use their phones!


That's changing now. My friend was in hospital (in the UK) for a week recently, and although she left her phone at home (thinking that she wouldn't be allowed to use it) she was utterly suprised to find people all around her talking on their mobile phones, sending/receiving text messages, etc. In her hospital, the rule had been relaxed, even though the old "no mobiles" notices were still posted on the walls everywhere.

Actually, it's really annoying on patients who want some peace and quiet, but such selfishness is a sign of the times I suppose.

quickssandra wrote:
He is registered disabled by the way, and I couldn't find a space free when I went to pick him up, late on in the evening....


And probably because the disabled places were being occupied by non-disabled drivers' cars, too. My mother-in-law is disabled and we have a constant battle against these morons.

Ella
_________________
This week's $64,000 question: Why am I so gorgeous, possums?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Barkingbiker



Joined: 11 Dec 2006
Posts: 2313
Location: Lincolnshire

PostPosted: Sat Mar 31, 2007 2:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I think the answer is simple, have car park automatic exit barriers that can only be opened/raised if you pay or have the correct swipe card which are issued free to staff & patients, but visitors and others have to pay a charge that covers the cost of running the car park system only. This way there is no requirement for car park attendants or clamping and the swipe cards could be sent with the appointment letter, valid only for the relevent day. This would also negate the unfair clamping/surcharge on patients whose appointments overrun, through no fault of their own. Besides why are we one of the very few countries that actually charge for hospital parking, it's just another stealth tax to subsidise the NHS. Also, why do I not have to pay to park my motorbike at any of our "local" hospitals, if car drivers do?

BB Twisted Evil
_________________
Old Bikers Never Die, our leathers just get tighter!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic   Reply to topic    R2OK! Forum Index -> News and Current Affairs All times are GMT
Page 1 of 1

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum


Powered by phpBB © phpBB Group. Hosted by phpBB.BizHat.com