Cost of hospital parking!

[Cloeycat]

Can someone tell me if they NHS or the car park companies get the money you pay for parking at the hospital?

I have been in and out a lot lately for 1hr appts that have taken 7/8hrs or resulted in admission and it is costing me an absolute fortune in parking, I don't know anyone locally so can't have someone else drop and collect me. Now I don't mind so much paying the parking fees if they go back into the NHS but if it goes to the parking company I'm going to start feeling v v resentful. I know some hospitals do a day rate for inpatients and appts that run over but mine doesn't.

[Lovelybangers]

I assume that most are parking companies.

Is there a help desk in your hospital? Ask there? I imagine they will know about the parking.

Have a quick visit to hospital today myself. It's just for a blood test. If I am in and out within 20 minutes parking is free. Any longer and is £2.

[MatildaTheCat]

I think it's a bit of both. Ours is very expensive. Many people try to park offsite on my road which is an option. Otherwise the hospital strongly suggest using public transport. There is a train station just over the road. Unfortunately the gap between train and platform is over a foot with the risk of falling beneath the train so not everyone want to try that.

[ClaraLane]

Our parking fees at my hospital come back to us and help pay the ludicrous PFI we're locked into. Does your hospital not stamp your ticket if you've been in for longer than X hours? I think we do it so the max people pay is the 2 hour charge if they've been in for an appointment that's massively over-run. Some patients having things like chemo also get a "frequent visitor" charge which is the same as the 2 hour charge I think.

[Sirzy]

One of our local hospitals is pay and display which is very useful when your going into a and e with no idea how long you will be!

I dread to think how much we have spent on hospital parking. At least the local children's hospital is a flat £2 for the whole time your car is in the car park.

[MatildaTheCat]

If you are very delayed there is sometimes some discretion used and staff can call the company and explain you've been delayed. Worth asking. Ours is now done by 'Camera Eye' so not so easy, you've been clocked on arrival by the camera.

[Bagel88]

If you're going regularly they may offer a discount. Daily trips to visit a sick relative meant a fixed price of £2 at our local hospital. Not free but better than full price..

[GlitterGlue]

The hospital will almost certainly have a monthly or weekly ticket which will be miles cheaper. Do ask, as it won't be advertised.

[kawla]

I used to process money claims and I remember it was the hospitals that were claiming parking fines from the defendant so it must be going back to them.

[Chasingsquirrels]

Ours is a parking company, but does have discounts for various things - patients get a set rate not increasingly hourly, visitors can by a weekly or fortnightly ticket.

Website says parking company built (funded) and runs for own profit - though I assume (but don't know) their costs include a rental charge for the land which goes back to the hospital

[Itisnoteasybeingdifferent]

Don't forget the Scots get free car parking. Paid for by English taxes.

[londonrach]

Both. When i had dd i was advised to buy a week pass as wasnt sure how long labour would be. Ask at the hospital. Hope you ok soon x

[Iamastonished]

The money goes to the hospitals round here, so while it is a PITA I don't object to funding the NHS given that OH and DD have had extensive use of it.

[Cheerybigbottom]

Ours is parking eye, or camera eye or something. It's 20 minutes free then 2hr, 4hr or all day charge. My husband had spent 4 days at hospital at his ill fathers bedside before anyone told him about the £10 weekly ticket, as like a pp said it wasn't well advertised.

[tiggerbounce77]

The parking at hospitals is very expensive, at our one if you take your appointment card to customer service in the car park you can get a reduced rate but it's still £3.60, I wouldn't mind if it was going back into the hospital

[Beth2511]

Ours do that cap at 4 hours if the clinic confI'm it's massively overrun. They also a £16 7 day ticket which was a life saver when ds was admitted

[ratspeaker]

At the Royal infirmary in Edinburgh its the parking company that get the money.
It was built under PFI and part of the contract was private parking. Even the staff have to pay for a pass.
One of the few places in Scotland you have to pay to park

[Itisnoteasybeingdifferent]

I know a senior doctor from Addenbrooks. The parking there is very expensive. They make a lot of money from it. And because of the hospital and the general anti car attitude from the council there is no on street parking within miles.

[Bestthingever]

Itsnoteasy the Scots do not get free parking. Where on earth did you get that idea from?

[Littlelegs19]

The one we use is a private company. We spent the best part of £150/£200 on parking costs when I was in and out of hospital from 26-36w! its ridiculous really! £10 for 4+ hours!

[Jellybean83]

I wish my hospital would start charging for parking, maybe refund all or part of the charge with proof of an appointment.

I'm at the hospital at least monthly and it is impossible to get parked, my last appointment I got there 40 mins before my app and still just got into the building with 5 mins to spare, it is a fucking stressful nightmare. Paid parking would cut down on this, I'm sure.

[Sirzy]

Paying to park doesn't make it any easier to find a space in my experience of many different hospitals!

[trinity0097]

In Scotland they are not allowed to charge for parking at hospitals. Perfect solution.

I've used the Royal Surrey in Guildford a fair bit, that is annoying as it is a and display. Frimley Park which I now use is better as you pay afterwards and the first 15min is free, so when DH has had to pick me up he hasn't had to pay. Also if you are an inpatient and drive yourself to the hospital you can get the nurse to sign your ticket and you get out free. That is very handy, as I drove myself to A&E twice recently and was admitted, the first time I drove home myself, the second DH had to go back last night and pick up my car.

[Piehunter]

Our local hospital have a sticker on the machines saying that parking charges pay for the equivalent of 40 nurses a year. Most hospitals have a max pay if it's their own car park, and many you can buy a block of tickets heavily reduced if you know you've got a few appointments coming up, but again I've only seen these options at hospitals that have their own car park not ones who use big multi storeys.. They dint always advertise them either so find the cashier and ask them. The other option is if you're on a low income then it's worth applying for help with health costs (I don't know the actual threshold for this, it's above the usual 16,500 or at least is for us with me classed as severely disabled, you can claim 20p per mile back for travel too, without it i'd be forced to miss many appointments as I travel far and wide!)

[CherryChasingDotMuncher]

At ours the parking company get the money but in turn they do not charge the hospital for policing the car park. IF it helps, they were only brought in recently to manage the car park, meaning it was the city's worst kept secret that there was no enforcement at the hospital, and therefore everyone parked for free because they could get away with it. It was bedlam - our hospital is near the city centre so loss of people would park on both double yellows and double reds and nip to the shops. You couldn't get a space for love nor money and when there was a fire the fire engine couldn't get past all the cars double parked and illegally parked. It was awful, but since enforcement began it's been a real difference and I've always got a space easily. Local people have moaned to hell cos they now have to go into town to pay for parking! This is why I don't mind where the money goes, as hospital car parks DO need enforcement otherwise people totally take the piss!

[MrsNuckyThompson]

I think the NHS and parking company will split the costs. I agree it is so expensive!! I'm 34 weeks in my second high risk pregnancy and visit every two weeks for 3-4 hours a time. Costs about a fiver each visit. I can't use public transport because I always have to go to work straight after which is not an option on public transport. Having said that the car park is inadequately small so I guess the fees encourage people who might otherwise drive but do have other options to go via public transport!