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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To be completely fucked off with hospital parking?

243 replies

PooDogMillionaire · 22/01/2016 09:36

DS had a very bad crack to the head last week, I rushed him to A&E and there was nowhere to park... The only place to pull in had big red signs saying I'd be towed if I parked there, meanwhile DS is almost unconscious, pale with a bleeding head Angry.

I've just arrived at the same hospital for my second attempt at my maternity booking in appointment only to find a 7 car long queue for the very expensive car park. Both appointments have been at 9:30 so I haven't had much time to get up here from school run and have now had to cancel both as nowhere to park.

I'm not sure what the solution is but if be scared to go into labour and not be able to find a space!

OP posts:
AlpacaLypse · 22/01/2016 11:50

I'm having a new knee fitted in a few weeks time. I was offered the choice of several hospitals, including one private that has an NHS contract for hips and knees. The single main reason I have chosen that one is that is on an out of town site with ample free parking.

MrsBethel · 22/01/2016 11:52

No wonder so many people call ambulances unnecessarily.

It's just what you need when you or someone else is sick... battling the car park, getting screwed for extortionate rates or unavoidable fines.

It's an absolute joke. If the supermarkets can get it right, why the hell can't our hospitals?
(Answer: shops have to get it right, or they go bust. Hospitals would be getting it right for someone else's benefit - ie yours - which funnily enough isn't quite as strong a motivator...)

We need free parking for patients, mandated by government, and any hospital falling short of this sees fines levied against the hospital managements' bonuses. So if anything goes wrong the bigwigs get fined - not the patients.

HeadDreamer · 22/01/2016 11:53

The same here. We have to use the park and ride. Luckily for my last labour it was the weekend! No scheduled appointments mean a lot more parking.

Not sure about the A&E and what you need to do.

Illcya · 22/01/2016 11:55

whois I've used taxis but it's v expensive. I've had lifts from friends and repaid the favour. For appointments I've used the bus and walked a few miles to get there - takes ages so had to have friends take the children for me or DP take annual leave. For the children you can't take them out of school all day for an appointment.

badfurday I too know staff hospital and those who work elsewhere, who struggle to park finding space and meet the cost, all who can not opt for public transport.

LionsTeeth · 22/01/2016 11:57

When my grandad had a stroke I rushed to hospital at about six am, luckily the car park was virtually empty so I got a space straight away. Obviously I wasn't thinking straight so put money into the machine but pressed the button too early, only having put in 1.70, when an hours parking was 1.80. Instead of rejecting the money, the machine took it and printed me a ticket that ran out that very same minute. Angry

lostInTheWash · 22/01/2016 12:01

Don't drive - so use taxi or buses or occasional we get lifts.

My experience of public transport to hospitals isn't great - infrequent, odd times or stops not near actual hospitals.

Rare we get lift but offer petrol and parking money to people kind enough to help us or expensive taxis.

It does seem staff, patients and victors getting to hospitals isn't thought about as much as you'd expect.

LikeASoulWithoutAMind · 22/01/2016 12:01

I use park and ride now when ds has appointments. It costs about the same and actually may be slightly quicker once you factor in allowing a ridiculous amount of parking time. And no stress.

ALemonyPea · 22/01/2016 12:11

I hate hospital parking.

MIL was in and out of hospital for over a year, one was a 6 month stint. Visiting time was 2-4 and to ensure a parking spot I had to be there at least 45 minutes early, so practically double the cost as was parked for longer than the visit.

Also, if you think parking in a normal spot is hard, try parking in a disabled spot. At my two local hospitals, it's a dog eat dog car park where you take whatever spot you can get. nobody cares if you've been waiting 20 minutes for a spot, if you were there first, or if you're going to be late for your appointment, if they see a spot, they'll take it, and it's usually the elderly that are the worse.

wonkylegs · 22/01/2016 12:15

Our local hospital still has a pay and display car park so you have to guess how long you'll beHmm
I'm attending the much larger regional centre and it struggles with car parking but at least it's a pay on exit system and they have a system for permits if you have to attend regularly. I am having to attend once or twice a week at the moment and have a 3 month permit which has cost me £20 which seems rather sensible.
The car park is operated by the PFI provider not the trust so unfortunatly they generally are a bit shit as they don't give a monkeys about the patients or staff as long as they are making profits. I suspect this is a problem at a lot of the PFI hospitals.

HarveySchlumpfenburger · 22/01/2016 12:52

We need free parking for patients, mandated by government, and any hospital falling short of this sees fines levied against the hospital managements' bonuses. So if anything goes wrong the bigwigs get fined - not the patients.

Except that in the case of our hospital this would massively increase the congestion in the relatively limited on site parking. The parking charges pay for the park and ride service that is used by staff, patients and visitors and reduces a lot of the congestion.

honeysucklejasmine · 22/01/2016 12:59

I feel for the staff. Not only do they earn marvellous NHS salaries Hmm but have to spend some of just for the privilege of parking at their place of work. Not easy to avoid when working shifts, public transport isn't great between 9pm and 6am round here.

ouryve · 22/01/2016 13:04

it used to be the case that we were stuffed for parking during afternoon clinic times at our hospital. DH did drop me off for some maternity appointments, then go find somewhere else to park.

Thankfully, the council saw sense to have the city's park and ride buses use the stops near the hospital, which has made getting DS2 to his orthoptist appointments a lot easier, though still no fun for him having to walk all the way to the bus stop when he's had his pupils dilated

Writerwannabe83 · 22/01/2016 13:06

The problem at my local hospital is that the staff car park is so tiny that only a small percentage of staff have a parking pass to enter it (staff have to apply for a pass and they are awarded on a points basis).

The average wait for a staff car parking pass at my Trust is two years. I've been at the hospital for a year now, I got 6 out of 8 points on my application form, and I'm still only number 426 on the waiting list.

As a result a lot of staff are having to park in the visitors car park which obviously means that by 7.20am a lot of the car parking spaces are already full and will remain full for the 14 hour shifts the staff work for.

It also means we all have to pay about £100 a month just to park our car at work. It's a nightmare.

When I have outpatient a appointments I also get to the car park about 45 minutes prior to my appointment time as that's how long it can take to find a space.

vladthedisorganised · 22/01/2016 13:15

Yep, YADNBU. Our local hospital is miles from anywhere - possibly the same as glueonasticks? - and has minimal parking. The parking is extortionate and there is a lot of double-parking taking place. Visiting hours are limited: when my mum was dying I missed a number of visits with her as I had been circling the car park for two hours waiting for an available space. I generally get taxis now or get someone to drop me off (unless their blood pressure is high already - even this can be a horror as the double-parking means there's nowhere to stop)

There are some buses going from the next town - they are infrequent, you have to pay a standard fare (£2.50 single, £4.50 return) to get to the town and then on top of that pay the madly expensive parking charges in the town centre car parks. On-street parking is not an option and there are parking wardens everywhere waiting for people to park on double-yellow lines nearby.

Conversely, when my dad was moved to a specialist hospital in central London, I could park all day in a multi-storey nearby for £2.

I think the park-and-ride option would be a real improvement.

Scholes34 · 22/01/2016 13:27

At our hospital, you just have to show your outpatients appointment card to the attendant to pay a flat rate of parking of about £2.50.

SexLubeAndAFishSlice · 22/01/2016 13:27

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

AugustRose · 22/01/2016 13:49

Our hospital is terrible for parking, it has been in the news constantly in the 11 years we've lived here and is getting worse. We live 30 miles away and have to allow at least 30 minutes before any appointments just to find a parking space and I have still been late on occasion.

Tanith · 22/01/2016 13:56

We fundraised for one of my minded children who had leukaemia.
A significant amount of the fund had to be spent on car parking at the hospital where she was treated Angry

I once had a panic attack in our hospital car park when I couldn't find a parking space for an antenatal appointment - I was advised to drive home and rest instead.
The problem at our hospital seems to be that all the appointments and visiting times are scheduled at the same time. So you can park quite easily at 10am and haven't a hope in hell at 2pm.

ZebraLovesKnitting · 22/01/2016 13:58

The hospital DS has appointments at is really bad for parking. Last time, after waiting for an hour, I just couldn't park anywhere so had to call the clinic 5 mins before his appointment time to cancel and rebook. They did this with no hassle at all, they said they always have several appointments a day cancelled at short notice because people can't park anywhere. Several every day! And they wonder why waiting lists are so long and money gets eaten up!

reallybadidea · 22/01/2016 14:07

There are lots of things I could criticise the hospital where I work for, but parking is not one of them.

There is free and plentiful parking for all staff just a few minutes walk from the hospital. If you want to park on site then you can do so for a relatively modest fee (£25 a month). If you are working a late shift or are on call then you can park on site for free. Very sensible and easy.

loosechange · 22/01/2016 14:12

YANBU re hospital parking.
Some hospitals have an emergency triage car park for obstetrics, OP. Might be worth asking what their provision is for this scenario.

Strangertides1 · 22/01/2016 14:14

No advice other than put a note in the glove box saying 'in labour, admitted to labour ward, please ask for x should there be a problem', so you can just put it out once the time comes. Our hospital is terrible to and ladies often have to just dump the car on the one way system that runs past the maternity unit. I use to work there and this is what we advised.

SmallGreenBouncyBall · 22/01/2016 14:22

yanbu
my local hospital doesn't have parking at all. just a ver short term pick up/drop in type of arrangement.

HSMMaCM · 22/01/2016 14:32

I had to rush to a non local hospital to DD who had been taken in by ambulance. I fought for a space and paid for a whole day, predicting that she would be there a long time. Then I had to go out to get her something and had to park and pay AGAIN! This is not what I needed while upset and stressed about DD, so I didn't even think about it, complain, or anything. It was not the top of my priorities at the time. Went through the whole fiasco again for the next two days.

My local hospital has at least changed from pay when you arrive to pay when you leave, so I no longer have to guess how long we'll be in A&E or wherever.

expatinscotland · 22/01/2016 14:41

YANBU

'A significant amount of the fund had to be spent on car parking at the hospital where she was treated angry'

Yep, and people with leukaemia or being treated for it are at major risk for infection, so they cannot use public transport.