7daysinaweek Posted May 25, 2016 Report Share Posted May 25, 2016 The good missus has been in for op, went in last night to visit. On arrival at 7pm i parked in the small car park signposted for the part of the hospital she is staying in and not the larger multistory. Anyroads went in for two hours and when came out went over to the the charge machine and was £10 for two hours, thought it was a little steep. Had parked in the multistory last week for the pre op and was £3 for the same duration, this smaller car park is attached to the multistory and signed as the parking for this ward. Lesson learnt and message to self never assume and always check the signs. atb 7diaw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martyn2233 Posted May 25, 2016 Report Share Posted May 25, 2016 £10 for two hours by god that's expensive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wymberley Posted May 25, 2016 Report Share Posted May 25, 2016 From what you describe, I'd be inclined to make my feelings known in no uncertain terms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kent Posted May 25, 2016 Report Share Posted May 25, 2016 A common way of funding the most important but most poorly run ( financially)free service It's so free you don't even have to pay or ever paid UK taxes Unfortunately I feel your pain having a daughter who goes in very regular Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Medic1281 Posted May 25, 2016 Report Share Posted May 25, 2016 In Shropshire the car parking fees don't go to the hospital! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7daysinaweek Posted May 25, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2016 (edited) The charges are on a sign in the carpark, the onus was upon myself to check, however charges are very steep and as you say will be making feelings known. the hospital made £2.57 million from car parking charges in 2014/15. i have no qualms in paying a parking fee but with hindsight feel signposting this car park for that specific ward is no different from the multistory next to it for all the other wards. As you say Kent could add up to a large amount if regular visits needed. Hope your daughter is well. Medic, possibly the fees go directly to the contractor of the parking services in shropshire and not filtered back into the trust, some trusts such as this one will use the money generated towards other services within the trust which i understand, it is the cost of fee that has riled me a little. frustrating both ways atb 7diaw Edited May 25, 2016 by 7daysinaweek Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wymberley Posted May 25, 2016 Report Share Posted May 25, 2016 Our local cottage hospital shares its parking with a large surgery and there's no charge. The nearest main hospital has a similar set up as you describe (I would imagine many do), but the charge for the smaller car park specific to the one particular ward (oncology) has the same tariff as the larger one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince Green Posted May 25, 2016 Report Share Posted May 25, 2016 My mother has been in hospital three times since Christmas and I am taking her back in this afternoon for another lot of treatment. I got into the habit of parking my car in a side road alongside the route of the bus that goes into the hospital, then going in by bus. Its not just about the cost, I have queued for nearly an hour before now to get into the car park and one day I gave up and went home Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
100milesaway Posted May 25, 2016 Report Share Posted May 25, 2016 When Geoff my partner had to have radiotherapy we had to pay everyday for seven and a half weeks parking, just for a 10 minute slot.plus fuel for a round 80 mile trip everyday..Thankfully he is recovering well. but was not a good feeling after discovering you have prostate cancer and have to self fund your daily trips having said that the treatment was 1st class...from Auntie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keg Posted May 25, 2016 Report Share Posted May 25, 2016 When Geoff my partner had to have radiotherapy we had to pay everyday for seven and a half weeks parking, just for a 10 minute slot.plus fuel for a round 80 mile trip everyday..Thankfully he is recovering well. but was not a good feeling after discovering you have prostate cancer and have to self fund your daily trips having said that the treatment was 1st class...from Auntie. I have every sympathy with this as mum has been through Lung & Bowel Cancer and her treatment was 1st class but i suppose the system can't pay for everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wymberley Posted May 25, 2016 Report Share Posted May 25, 2016 When Geoff my partner had to have radiotherapy we had to pay everyday for seven and a half weeks parking, just for a 10 minute slot.plus fuel for a round 80 mile trip everyday..Thankfully he is recovering well. but was not a good feeling after discovering you have prostate cancer and have to self fund your daily trips having said that the treatment was 1st class...from Auntie. Seems we're more fortunate down here: Car parking charges at Wonford and Heavitree Hospitals The RD&E Trust has provided free parking for patients attending the Wonford and Heavitree sites for regular treatment, for a number of years. The main, although not exclusive, areas that we currently provide free parking for are: Cancer Services Haematology Renal Dialysis Paediatric Oncology Special Care Baby Unit Diabetes Disabled badge holders In addition free parking is given to parents who are resident at the hospital as a result of their children being inpatients or who have individual requirements warranting special consideration. Under section 7 of the Health and Medicines Act 1988 Hospitals were permitted and encouraged to introduce Income Generation schemes, to fund their services. The current charges for the RD&E on site parking at Wonford and Heavitree as from December 01 2014 are as follows: 20 Minutes free parking £2.50 for up to two hours £4.50 for up to four hours £8.50 for all eight hours Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7daysinaweek Posted May 25, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2016 hi vince i will have to travel in in car and park within the grounds car park as will need to collect wifey from the ward bring her down and nip back out to collect car and pick her up at front, yes frustrating when you cannot get parked, hope she is doing ok. auntie, for certain oncology services there has been a long running campaign around abolishing parking charges for individuals and spouses who require regular visits for treatment. however trusts are not compelled to abolish or reduce fees for multiple visits but can do so, many have taken steps to provide free parking though state spaces may be limited. hope your good man is on the mend. atb 7diaw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keg Posted May 25, 2016 Report Share Posted May 25, 2016 Seems we're more fortunate down here: Car parking charges at Wonford and Heavitree Hospitals The RD&E Trust has provided free parking for patients attending the Wonford and Heavitree sites for regular treatment, for a number of years. The main, although not exclusive, areas that we currently provide free parking for are: Cancer Services Haematology Renal Dialysis Paediatric Oncology Special Care Baby Unit Diabetes Disabled badge holders In addition free parking is given to parents who are resident at the hospital as a result of their children being inpatients or who have individual requirements warranting special consideration. Under section 7 of the Health and Medicines Act 1988 Hospitals were permitted and encouraged to introduce Income Generation schemes, to fund their services. The current charges for the RD&E on site parking at Wonford and Heavitree as from December 01 2014 are as follows: 20 Minutes free parking £2.50 for up to two hours £4.50 for up to four hours £8.50 for all eight hours A bit of sense there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panoma1 Posted May 25, 2016 Report Share Posted May 25, 2016 The problem is when the precedent for charging for parking at a particular NHS hospital is made, all or at least a proportion of that parking money goes into the particular NHS hospital healthcare budget and is consequently used for the care of patients.........when the government inadequately funds the NHS hospital the parking charges take up the shortfall left by that inadequate funding, once a precedent for charging for parking is created it will never be free again..........and every time a particular hospital has another cash shortfall the easy option is to increase the parking charges! It is the government taking more money out of our pockets by imposing another stealth tax on the the sick and their families! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shotguneddy Posted May 25, 2016 Report Share Posted May 25, 2016 In Shropshire the car parking fees don't go to the hospital! Let me guess to the xxxxxxx gangs of migrants sponging everything Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imperfection Posted May 25, 2016 Report Share Posted May 25, 2016 In Stevenage,people park on double yellow lines outside the hospital to avoid paying...then i watch as a meter maid goes along and tickets them all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidawson Posted May 25, 2016 Report Share Posted May 25, 2016 (edited) if it's Aintree you are on about which it sounds like, if you go past the multistory and go straight down towards the no entry bit for the delivery vans there are normally some spaces on the left handside by the staff car park which are normally free as most people don't want to go down that far when my dad was in there last year i got a space there most of the time plus if you ask the ward staff some of them will go and get a ticket validated for you so it's free to get out especially if your only going to pick up Edited May 25, 2016 by sidawson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7daysinaweek Posted May 25, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2016 (edited) thanks for the heads up Sid and yes it was Aintree and now i do know the area , parked in the multistory today, was in for around 4 hours and paid £4 on exit. On the board for the multistory anything over 4 - 24 hours stay is £5 and far more reasonable than my previous charge. Anyroads back home now with the wifey, will be highlighting my concern re costs via hospital survey. atb 7diaw Edited May 25, 2016 by 7daysinaweek Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mossy835 Posted May 25, 2016 Report Share Posted May 25, 2016 one of my farmers had to stay in hospital and over time he was there, the parking fee was £600,his wife told me, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amateur Posted May 25, 2016 Report Share Posted May 25, 2016 I just catch the bus, pretty well door to door, using my freedom pass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7daysinaweek Posted May 25, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2016 no freedom pass for me and no bussy bussy when you just had major surgery. Wonderful if you can do it but for me just was not practical! atb 7diaw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ph5172 Posted May 25, 2016 Report Share Posted May 25, 2016 You are lucky, The staff at our local have to pay to park.....as in pay for the privilege of going into work!! - but its fine as its on a sliding scale so if you are the lowest graded it only cost you around 400 notes a year!! but as a gesture of goodwill the charge is refunded via your pay packet if you work Christmas Day or New Years Day, its a daily charge now (24 hours) as it used to cover a single shift - but if yours ran over or you were caught in surgery they were getting slapped with penalty notices, according to the local rag it then became a charge per 24 hours when a top surgeon got one of the juniors to go and tell the wife of a patient that due to his car parking running out he would have to halt the operation and leave him on the table or just stitch up and put him in intensive care and wait till someone was free to continue the round of emergency surgery as he had already had 2 penalty notices that year for overrunning his shift - turns out (by pure chance and on no part malice or research by any of the team) it just happened to be a director of the private parking company they had contracted the car park out to for 5 years!! and to top it off in her panic his wife had 'forgotten' to pay the parking charge and had been given a penalty notice to boot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince Green Posted May 25, 2016 Report Share Posted May 25, 2016 In Stevenage,people park on double yellow lines outside the hospital to avoid paying...then i watch as a meter maid goes along and tickets them all. They park on the double yellows inside our local hospital and then stick a disabled badge on the dashboard and leave the car blocking the way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Westley Posted May 26, 2016 Report Share Posted May 26, 2016 They park on the double yellows inside our local hospital and then stick a disabled badge on the dashboard and leave the car blocking the way They have recently added the 3 yellow bands on the kerb edge at the local Hospital, this has stopped the blue badge brigade from parking there for free, they now have to use the car park and pay the same as everyone else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UKPoacher Posted May 26, 2016 Report Share Posted May 26, 2016 Where I used to live the car parking at the hospital was extortionate. Then the patients had to pay for TV and phone calls at a premium rate. It is scandalous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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