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Original poster

Do you think NHS staff should have to pay £10-15 a day for parking?

184 replies

MrsLemonadeBrain · 11/04/2018 13:56

I work in the hospital and parking is probably an hour and a half’s wage (maybe more) for a shifts parking (it goes up to 18 quid if you’re on a long)
This has always been fine by me. But the last three days when I’ve been leaving work and paying for my parking (pay on exit type jobby) several people have been outraged about the cost of my parking and feel like they need to spend 10 minutes telling me how outrageous it is!
What is the general opinion on this?
Should I be as outraged as all these patients suggest?

OP posts:
LynetteScavo · 13/04/2018 15:13

Host postal staff absolutely should not have to pay for hospital parking!

I work in the public sector and have free parking (I do appreciate it!) I used to work in the private sector and it was only about £5 for town centre parking.

The hospital near me had incredibly crap public transport considering it's such a large hospital.

Just one more reason I don't want my DC to go into a health profession.

IIIustriouslyIllogical · 13/04/2018 15:20

Meh, personally I'm more outraged by the charges for people having treatment/visiting sick relatives.

If I drove a car to work it'd cost me £10 congestion charge & then approx £30 per day to park, and then I'd add fuel on top.

Train costs just under £50 per day.

Motorbike costs £10 in fuel & free parking so I use that, despite the other inconveniences.

Get a scooter OP? They have free parking in the Hospitals I've been to...

70isaLimitNotaTarget · 13/04/2018 15:20

The hospital where I had my DC (now closed down) introduced charges because people were using the car park for the station.
When they introduced charges for staff at our other local hospitals they said it was "to pay for security"
I predicted the roads outside would e chokka - they are and there have been a load of double yellow lines painted even though this stretch of road did not impact on any houses.

Buying a permit ( if you were eligible , not a given) did not mean you would get a space in the muddy quagmire. How nice to start your working day covered in mud Hmm

My local hospital (I don't work there but there's a direct bud from near my house to the Main Doors) will have 650 homes built in the grounds with 250 parking spaces.......yes, that'll work !

IIIustriouslyIllogical · 13/04/2018 15:22

A lot of people have to factor in parking/transport costs when accepting a job - it's the second thing I look at after wages .....

Stickerrocks · 13/04/2018 15:24

Our local huge teaching hospital encourages staff to use public transport and park & ride schemes they run. If you need to park on site e.g. night shifts, frequent off site meetings, you have to pay to park, but the charges are based on your grade. Consultants & senior management pay a lot more for their parking spaces than a nurse or porter.

TeasndToast · 13/04/2018 16:22

No you shouldn’t have to pay.

Willow2017 · 13/04/2018 16:45

Thats ridiculous. £10- £15 a day is outrageous.
Thankfully our nearest big hosp doesnt charge anyone but there are time restructions in certain areas and dedicated staff parking. Probably 75% of the staff have to use thier car as its basically in the middle of nowhere. Staff from my area have a 45min drive, there are no buses that would take under 2 hours to get there which is no use for shift work never mind no bus would get you there for office hours or early shifts. And after 5pm you wouldnt get a bus back.

You can hardly car share if your shifts change every week!

daffodildelight · 13/04/2018 16:50

As far as I'm concerned anyone who works for the NHS is a superstar and not only should have free parking but their cars given a free valet and red carpet too and from the door.

Tansie1 · 13/04/2018 16:59

The company employed to look at transport options for in this instance, NHS staff is called TravelWise.

Presumably the NHS has to demonstrate how Green they are, there's probably a box to be ticked somewhere, and it's useful if you're looking for leeway re parking, PnR tokens etc if you can prove that an independent person has revealed an unworkable public transport 'option' for you.

Littlechocola · 13/04/2018 17:07

‘Only do admin’ whaaaattt! Admin run the wards, ours is a star and we would fall apart without her.

Jimmers · 13/04/2018 17:56

**“If they take the train or bus to work do you think that should be covered too, or just perks for car drivers?“

^This.

Tansie1 · 13/04/2018 18:00

But jimmers, it's the actual sum of money being demanded here that's way out of order! I'd doubt many of the staff's normal commute on public transport would average out at £10-15 per day; given that the majority of NHS workers are on Bands 2-4.

Terramirabilis · 13/04/2018 18:05

"Free" parking isn't really free. Someone's paying for it somehow i.e. taxpayers in funding the increased cost of a hospital to build parking for it without expecting a return on the cost of the parking through fees. I don't think it should automatically be free because someone works for the NHS. I commute by public transport almost always because it's about half as expensive as paying to park, without the cost of fuel.

Checklist · 13/04/2018 18:06

An annual season ticket around here is £3,500 pa and car parking at the station around £7.50 a day, £10.60 if the station is full and have to use the town car parks!

peacheachpearplum · 13/04/2018 18:11

I don’t think anyone should have to pay to park at a hospital. The problem with that is there aren't enough spaces at some hospitals. Where I live the hospital is close to a railway station, commuters used to park in the hospital car park for free and it was impossible to park if you had an appointment after 8 am. One of my kids had regular appointments every month for years and I was thrilled when they introduced charges as I could actually park.

I do think staff should get reduced parking, full cost seems unfair but I don't think it has to be free, people who can't afford a car don't get free bus fares to the hospital.

Namechangedandfedup · 13/04/2018 18:16

I'm an NHS employee and Ita subsidised, £30 a month Hmm

ragmayo · 13/04/2018 18:20

I'm a Band 2 nursing assistant and pay £12 for parking on weekdays. For the people asking why not public transport, it's this. Imagine doing two, sometimes three 13 hour shifts back to back. Surely you can understand the 45 minutes extra commute can then really take it out of you. Even driving, with all the other things you have to do when you're home;Ironing, washing, packed lunches, cook dinner for next day, shopping, shower etc you can end up with a maximum of 5 hours to sleep before the next shift. A one off you can manage, two in a row doable but you will be drained, but three? Plus adding the extra commute time into it?

DailyMailReadersAreThick · 13/04/2018 18:22

I've never worked anywhere I had to pay to park, and it's something I ask about at interview. I wouldn't pay to park at my workplace.

And I don't think staff OR patients should pay for hospital parking.

Splodgeinc · 13/04/2018 18:26

I’m a junior doctor. Our jobs move every 6 months to a year. I used to be able to get a train to one workplace but no trains on a Sunday so I couldn’t use it for those shifts or nights, and last train left at 9.30 so I had to absolutely let it from shift finish at 9 and if I was late then it was an expensive 20 mile taxi ride home. Became impossible when I got pregnant as I couldn’t run fast enough. Wasn’t eligible for a parking permit as only worked there for a year and they were done on length of stay so had to park on patient parking paying £2.50 an hour for a 13 hour shift.

Moved to a different village to be nearer to work with a bus all days of week. So they moved my job from that hospital to one 40 miles away, no public transport options from my village (well I could do it but it would be three hours each way), fortunately parking permit is available even if it Dosent guarantee a space.

Come August I will be moving hospitals again and post could be anything from 5 miles to 100 miles away. I will only get 6 weeks notice of where I’m going and then the panics to sort out childcare and commute and parking will start again. It’s shit and it doesn’t make you feel valued at all.

Chrys2017 · 13/04/2018 18:31

I don't think anyone should have to pay to park to go to work

I've never worked at a company that offered free parking. The country is choking in petrol fumes, so people should take public transport to work or walk.

ragmayo · 13/04/2018 18:43

@Chrys2017 so presumably if you ever needed emergency care, it's of no concern to you if the doctor or nurse has had less sleep just so they could use public transport?

Checklist · 13/04/2018 18:53

raymayo - DS works 12 hours a day Monday to Friday, and 6 hours a day on Saturday and Sunday. In the week, he normally gets 4 hours sleep a night. On occasion, he gets a flight abroad at midnight after a day at work, gets there 5 am and goes into meetings at 9 am on no sleep. He commutes, which takes 1.5 hours each way?

ragmayo · 13/04/2018 19:00

@Checklist I'm not sure what your question is? I feel for whoever is doing those hours. My point was the very physical job with sleep deprivation will not leave you at your best, and personally I choose to drive and pay the high parking as I understand an hour's extra sleep will do me good.

ragmayo · 13/04/2018 19:04

@Splodgeinc You are appreciated! Maybe not by those by those at the top, but by people who see how hard you work

Aridane · 13/04/2018 19:07

A lot of people have to factor in parking/transport costs when accepting a job - it's the second thing I look at after wages .....

Exactly - not sure working in a hospital puts you in a super special category