Are hospital parking charges fair?

[Taf]

Doc? I must have missed that one....


What really riles me is people arriving in cars at Casualty/ER/Trauma Centre/Emergency Unit (or whatever it's called this week) 'cos the ambulances take forever to turn up... and they get clamped as soon as they stagger away from their cars into a 4 hour queue for treatment....

Between the time my mother and I drove into the hospital grounds, found a place to park, and got to the ward...... my father had died.

[Kat]

Just think - if the moneys going back into the NHS and local hospitals then isn't it worth paying it 

No. We already pay for it with our taxes.

This is just a backdoor tax on the people who can least afford it.

If you're ill, you have to go to hospital. To expect you to pay for the privilege is taxing you, for being ill.

[Taf]

Our hospital has 2 options... expensive multi storey where you pay for the time you are there... and then the other areas where you pay for 4 hours... but can't top up if you're held up.....

The clampers are very enthusiastic all over the site... and very expensive too... no excuses accepted... and they always take their time unclamping vehicles... like they are trying to show how important they think they are.

A green parkspace outside the site had free parking for people who brought their dogs, family or electric racecars for a session. The onsite parking company saw this, bought the rights to the land from the council and slapped the same parking fees on there too.

Plus all roads around the site for about 200 yards are yellow-lined, forcing people into the fee-paying areas... and residents are NOT allowed to park outside their own homes!

[The Beam]

I think that most parking garages over here- hospital or wherever- are run by private companies.  They charge so much per hour- we pay it.  Not an issue.

Depending on if you are seeing a Dr or going into the ER, you can get your parking ticket stamped and get a discount.  Depends on the arrangement between the doctors, the hospital and the garage operator.

I doubt anything goes back to the hospital.  This keeps them from having to maintain/staff the garage.

Interesting to note the all of the best parking spots, the ones near the elevators, are reserved for the doctors themselves.

[El]

Between the time my mother and I drove into the hospital grounds, found a place to park, and got to the ward...... my father had died.

that happened to us too   and getting out of the grounds again when we left the hospital later was a nightmare. I thought my brother was going to leather an idiot who seemed to be just cruising around waiting for someone to leave so he could take their place  

[Mike]

A lot of the problems these days is PFI, it is part of the contract in ours that the PFI company, ISS in this case, must make a certain amount and only when they reach this, which is millions, will the hospital get any money back, we've yet to get anything back and now disabled have to pay for parking as the only way they got it free was if we paid the parking company per space allocated which we had to stop as we couldn't afford to keep paying it.
The staff also have to pay which is, depending on what you earn, either £200 or £300 a year, mine is £300 and I only need it for on call!! the only plus is the trust has just negotiated with the tax people that it can be deducted before tax so reducing the tax we pay, the snag with that it will affect our pension entitlements so if they don't get you one way they get you another!!

[sabell]

The hospital I work at does not charge for parking. Mental Health Trusts usually don't.

[Kat]

When my ex-wife's father died, we got out of the hospital to find that our car had been bricked and stripped.

That went down really well...

[Mojo]

I drove to myself to hospital but was not allowed to drive home. When a mate picked up my car on Sunday the arm was up as they don't charge, so that was a win. A day and a half for free...   Was only $4.00 max a day mind, so wasn't a fortune...

[Taf]

NHS parking in Wales 'to be free'
 
Wales will be the first UK country to reform hospital car parking charges

Patients, staff and visitors will be able to park for free at almost every NHS hospital in Wales by the end of 2011, it will be announced later.

The Welsh Assembly Government is expected to confirm free parking will start from 1 April this year.

Those hospitals whose parking is run by external companies will have to reduce costs until contracts expire.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/7273649.stm

Hmmmm. I smell an election looming......

[Spite]

Hmmmm. I smell an election looming......

  I smell more money being thrown into Wales.  I really don't mean to offend any of the Welsh people, and don't hold it against them, but I feel this is spectacularly unfair on the rest of Britain.

[Taf]

That point has already been raised, but flatly denied... the budget remains the same according to the NHS and NHS Wales.

The NHS in England was offered the chance to do it too, but they are too much in bed with PFI.

Brown wants to drive wedges deeper and deeper between the countries of the UK, and the NHS is a nice, high-profile one.

[Spite]

That point has already been raised, but flatly denied... the budget remains the same according to the NHS and NHS Wales.

  I'm sorry, but that sounds like bull.

[Taf]

Sorry, you don't get Radio Wales do you....

Bean counters have been on this morning with NHS mandarins talking about not only parking, but operational costs, prescriptions, pay awards, etc.

Waste is being trimmed in Wales whilst it is increasing in England despite "initiatives". Many English health authorities have now a surplus of cash after the big cuts of the last year, but they aren't spending it on patient care, but on technology to aid their admin staff. Technology which is not improving effienciency but just adding costs.

[Spite]

Bean counters have been on this morning with NHS mandarins talking about not only parking, but operational costs, prescriptions, pay awards, etc.

Waste is being trimmed in Wales whilst it is increasing in England despite "initiatives". Many English health authorities have now a surplus of cash after the big cuts of the last year, but they aren't spending it on patient care, but on technology to aid their admin staff. Technology which is not improving effienciency but just adding costs.

  No matter what they say, for some reason, I don't believe a word of it.  Wales is fast becoming a sinkhole similar to Spain where public cash is concerned.