# Hospitals making hundreds of millions from parking charges



## Northerner (Dec 27, 2018)

Hospitals are making hundreds of millions of pounds from car parking charges, with more than four in 10 NHS trusts increasing the cost of a stay in the past year.

An investigation using freedom of information requests has found that some trusts have doubled the price of car parking for patients and visitors.

Analysis of data published by NHS Digital in October shows that NHS trusts made more than £226m in 2017-18 from parking, including penalty fines.

A total of 124 NHS trusts responded to the Press Association requests on parking charges, with 53 (43%) reporting an increase in prices in the past year for visitors or staff, or both. The remaining 71 (57%) said they had not put up their prices.

https://www.theguardian.com/society...ing-hundreds-of-millions-from-parking-charges


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## mikeyB (Dec 27, 2018)

I’ve said this before, but there are no hospital car parking charges in Scotland. You can’t tax people because their nan is in hospital. 

There aren’t enough car parking spaces, but that’s hardly the point. That’s the case in hospital car parks in England.


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## trophywench (Dec 27, 2018)

So the hospital grabs all the parking money from day one when they open it, and it never costs them another penny to run, ever, through the life of the hospital?

It's irrelevant in Coventry - they don't own or run the car parking there.


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## Robin (Dec 27, 2018)

Parking charges were brought in in Oxford when nobody could find a space because people were abusing the free car parks and using them to park all day while they caught the bus into Oxford to work, instead of using the Park and Ride carparks which charged. The first half hour is free. Amazingly, when I was first diagnosed, I was sent for a liver ultrasound, and managed to check in, have the scan, and get out all in under the half hour. Never managed it for anything since!
(for some categories, such as cancer patients and parents of inpatient children, you can get a free pass from the ward)


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## Amigo (Dec 27, 2018)

Most hospital car parks seem to be run by private money grabbing enterprises and it makes my blood boil! I’m going to be virtually living at the local hospital over the next year and it’s a nightmare to find a parking space let alone have to pay £3.00 for anything more than 20 mins! 
Last time I had blood tests there, we had to sprint back to the car as we had 2 mins to go! And I don’t sprint easily these days especially with a severe chest infection!


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## Lanny (Dec 27, 2018)

There was a big scandal recently about the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast when the car parking rights where sold to a private firm & the money raised helped to fund the rebuilding of the hospital! But, that private firm started to hike up the car parking charges & the NHS Trust couldn’t do anything about it! It was a very short sighted decision made at the time that’s come back to haunt them & WE the public pay for it in the exorbitant parking charges! The NHS trust were REALLY grilled over by public opinion over that & had to revise similar such funding plans!

My local hospital, The Causeway, started off with free car parking but, have started charging in recent years because people abused it: parked their cars there for days & weeks while they went away on holiday!

The Altnagelvin hospital In Londonderry, nearest eye hospital, only charges visitors & if you’re going in for ops & day procedures, you’re given a code to put in the car parking machine for free parking in your admission letter! I like that idea & wish The Causeway would do that too instead of charging everybody!


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## grovesy (Dec 27, 2018)

Amigo said:


> Most hospital car parks seem to be run by private money grabbing enterprises and it makes my blood boil! I’m going to be virtually living at the local hospital over the next year and it’s a nightmare to find a parking space let alone have to pay £3.00 for anything more than 20 mins!
> Last time I had blood tests there, we had to sprint back to the car as we had 2 mins to go! And I don’t sprint easily these days especially with a severe chest infection!


Do you not get concessionary parking for your treatment, many places now do so.


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## Amigo (Dec 27, 2018)

grovesy said:


> Do you not get concessionary parking for your treatment, many places now do so.



I’m going to look into it grovesy. I think you do for daily chemo but I’ll be there for endless scans, blood tests and a variety of other appointments. 
Thing is I don’t mind paying a reasonable amount but it’s totally extortionate and doesn’t even benefit the hospital!


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## mikeyB (Dec 27, 2018)

I’m just grateful I qualify for hospital transport now that I live in England, though for how long that is free I don’t know. 

I don’t know how folk manage to get to wards and clinics in the time allowed in parking, they all seem to be past avenues of shops and coffee franchises these days, with the lifts as far as possible from the entrances.


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## Madeline (Dec 27, 2018)

mikeyB said:


> I’m just grateful I qualify for hospital transport now that I live in England, though for how long that is free I don’t know.



I qualify too, nobody has ever said there’s a limit on how long, or how many times I use it. It takes me to Nottingham for the Difficult Asthma Clinic regularly, as well as countless appointments at Boston. 

Never fails to amuse me that I have difficult asthma and a deranged jaw. All I need now is an insulting form of diabetes for the hat trick


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## Amigo (Dec 27, 2018)

mikeyB said:


> I’m just grateful I qualify for hospital transport now that I live in England, though for how long that is free I don’t know.
> 
> I don’t know how folk manage to get to wards and clinics in the time allowed in parking, they all seem to be past avenues of shops and coffee franchises these days, with the lifts as far as possible from the entrances.



Quite true Mike. When I rang for directions to Haematology, I was told it was near to Costa Coffee and the Marks and Spencer outlet! We don’t even have an M&S in the High Street anymore!


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## Lucy Honeychurch (Dec 27, 2018)

A family member has been in hospital since August, parking is £7 each time, it's cost us a small fortune, plus petrol as in a different County. Still cheaper than going by train and then bus, though. The hospital issue one pass per family, which obviously went to his wife.


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## Amigo (Dec 27, 2018)

Lucy Honeychurch said:


> A family member has been in hospital since August, parking is £7 each time, it's cost us a small fortune, plus petrol as in a different County. Still cheaper than going by train and then bus, though. The hospital issue one pass per family, which obviously went to his wife.



Gracious Lucy, that’s outrageous! 

Poor relative being in hospital so long though. They must be so glad of the visits regardless of the cost.


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## Dave W (Dec 27, 2018)

mikeyB said:


> I’ve said this before, but there are no hospital car parking charges in Scotland. You can’t tax people because their nan is in hospital.
> 
> There aren’t enough car parking spaces, but that’s hardly the point. That’s the case in hospital car parks in England.



Ninewells in Dundee charges Mike, it's one of the car parks built under PPI contract. It's the company not the hospital that gets the parking charges. Even with an outpatient appointment one has to pay, though if you run over time the excess charge is waived.


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## travellor (Dec 27, 2018)

I'm quite glad mine charges.
It used to be full with shoppers, and day workers in the town.
Now at least I can get in to park. 
Week and month tickets, sold in the ward, so only genuine patients and family can get them, are quite reasonable.


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## Madeline (Dec 27, 2018)

That’s a good idea @travellor, pity ours doesn’t do the same.


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## Ljc (Dec 28, 2018)

Our community hospital doesn’t charge 
The  hospital in Canterbury that we often go to charges £2 per day , blue badge holders pay too.


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## grainger (Dec 28, 2018)

Amigo said:


> Quite true Mike. When I rang for directions to Haematology, I was told it was near to Costa Coffee and the Marks and Spencer outlet! We don’t even have an M&S in the High Street anymore!



I was so grateful for m&s and costa at hospital when we lived at our hospital for 10 days while my youngest was in NICU. 
Our parking is expensive but they do special weekly passes for being who are staying due to having a child sick in hospital and they also gave my mum one because she was visiting everyday and bringing my eldest.


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## khskel (Dec 28, 2018)

Luckily I live within walking distance of Airedale which has been featured in the reports.


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## Amigo (Dec 28, 2018)

grainger said:


> I was so grateful for m&s and costa at hospital when we lived at our hospital for 10 days while my youngest was in NICU.
> Our parking is expensive but they do special weekly passes for being who are staying due to having a child sick in hospital and they also gave my mum one because she was visiting everyday and bringing my eldest.



Yes I’m sure I’ll be grateful too grainger.
I just wish they weren’t closing down these shops in the High Street! 

It’s good if they issue family visiting exemptions though. That’s how it should be!


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## eggyg (Dec 28, 2018)

I’m in the middle of a battle with UKPC over a ticket I received when the GP told us go to A  and E ASAP with Mr Eggy, last June. ( he had chest pains) . I dropped him off at the door and went to find a space, I had just over £3 in change so put it all in, 3.5 hrs parking. After the usual heart tests they admitted him for extra tests, I was worried of course so didn’t even think about the car. When we finally got out 11 hours later I had a ticket. I appealed, sent copies of his admission etc. Lost the appeal, I sent them a cheque for £2 as the daily charge is £5 telling them that’s all I owed them. Sent it back. My “ debt” has now been passed onto a debt recovery firm and I now “ owe” £130. They can whistle for it, I would rather go to jail, I’m not joking. It’s an absolute scandal, the reason my appeal failed was that the discharge letter was dated the day after his admittance ( admission date was on it too) I appealed the appeal stating that of  course it was dated the next day we didn’t leave until nearly midnight, I doubt they had a secretary in at that time! How many carbs in gruel?


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## mikeyB (Dec 29, 2018)

I shouldn’t worry too much, the courts routinely chuck out such cases. The parking companies can’t be bothered taking things as far as courts, they just depend on frightened folk paying up. Might be worth having a chat with a tame solicitor if you know one.


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## travellor (Dec 29, 2018)

eggyg said:


> I’m in the middle of a battle with UKPC over a ticket I received when the GP told us go to A  and E ASAP with Mr Eggy, last June. ( he had chest pains) . I dropped him off at the door and went to find a space, I had just over £3 in change so put it all in, 3.5 hrs parking. After the usual heart tests they admitted him for extra tests, I was worried of course so didn’t even think about the car. When we finally got out 11 hours later I had a ticket. I appealed, sent copies of his admission etc. Lost the appeal, I sent them a cheque for £2 as the daily charge is £5 telling them that’s all I owed them. Sent it back. My “ debt” has now been passed onto a debt recovery firm and I now “ owe” £130. They can whistle for it, I would rather go to jail, I’m not joking. It’s an absolutely scandal, the reason my appeal failed was that the discharge letter was dated the day after his admittance ( admission date was on it too) I appealed the appeal stating that of  course it was dated the next day we didn’t leave until nearly midnight, I doubt they had a secretary in at that time! How many carbs in gruel?



Did you appeal to Popla, after UKPC refused your appeal?
https://www.popla.co.uk/poplaappealprocess

If you are still within time, make the appeal.

If not, and you do receive court papers, which UKPC usually routinely do, do not ignore them, fill in your defence.


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## eggyg (Dec 29, 2018)

travellor said:


> Did you appeal to Popla, after UKPC refused your appeal?
> https://www.popla.co.uk/poplaappealprocess
> 
> If you are still within time, make the appeal.
> ...


I did, I have gone down all the correct routes and communicated with them at all times, even if it just to tell them I am not paying! @mikeyB I’m not worried or scared, not a lot scares me, they are just bullies and I don’t give in to bullies!


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## travellor (Dec 29, 2018)

eggyg said:


> I did, I have gone down all the correct routes and communicated with them at all times, even if it just to tell them I am not paying! @mikeyB I’m not worried or scared, not a lot scares me, they are just bullies and I don’t give in to bullies!



It's unlikely they'll take a case like this to court, I had an issue with another company, with missing signage, I appealed and lost, and heard nothing since, even though they are of of the main court users.


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