To think hospital parking should be for staff and patients only?

[NoHolidaysforyou]

I'm not sure if I am being unreasonable but our local hospital seems to never have parking available during appointment times (even with charges). When I was pregnant I remember whole families going in (aunts and uncles included) to see an ultrasound... Surely visitors are taking necessary limited parking spaces from patients and staff? So... AIBU to think hospital parking should be for staff and patients only? Visitors (unless they have a blue badge) could probably take public transport or walk a bit to get to the hospital. I don't think it's fair to stress patients or direct partners or parents of patients trying to get the patient to see a doctor.

[crazypsychedelictrifle]

My city council puts on a specific bus that runs from the city centre to both of the main hospitals and it stops at at least one park and ride site. It's also free to use (and no I'm not in London) but you still can't find a parking space at the hospital because so many people drive.

[Number3or4]

I took my grandma (85yr) to visit her freind in hospital. She hasn't got a bluebage but is frail and has dementia. Her memory is better in the moring so I quickly took her after dropping ds1 to school. I parked and paid. Was I wrong? Grandma & her freind appreciated it a lot.

My ds3 was in NICU I really appreciated the slip the nurse gave which meant we could park for 7 consecutive days for only £7. We were only allowed to use it for one car. It was an unexpected kindness, not having to worry about having the correct change for both me and dh.

[Dontaskmeihaventaclue]

Well I work in a busy a and e. Can you tell me how simple it would be to get public transport to work so that I arrive by 6.45am. Buses don't start running until around 6am here, and I'd be on the bus for about an hour. Then of course after my 12 hour shift I'd have to wait again for a bus which by 7pm runs hourly. I'd be waiting till nearly 8pm, home by 9 hopefully, straight to bed as I'd have to be up again by 5am at the latest to do it all again. Don't get me started on weekend bus timetable. I pay almost £50 a month for the privelige of parking at work, (same amount for lowest paid as it is for consultants). We do have designated car parks and are not allowed to use patient and visitor car parks. A huge percentage of hospital staff work 12 hour shifts, cut us a bit of slack. We're all knackered. Short staffed, low pay, and really low morale. Kick us when we're down why don't you.

[Glitterblue]

There is no public transport from our town to two of our nearest hospitals, both of which are over an hour's drive away and the other hospital that is used from where we live is in a big city an hour and a bit away which yes, we could get a train to, but it's nowhere near the station, rather on the outskirts and the trains don't run regularly. When my daughter was in NICU in another city, I had to take public transport to visit one day because my husband was using the car for work. It was an hour on the train into the city centre followed by an hour on the bus back out to the hospital. So nox, we can't all use public transport, it all depends where you live.

[Teddybear45]

Where I live staff and patients / visitors pay the same for parking. No hospital would ever restrict visitor parking as it boosts the coffers.

[Sirzy]

The children’s hospital ds regularly attends is a 30 minute drive. To get there on public transport would take over 2 and a half hours. A five hour round trip often multiple times a week just isn’t feesible.

I have frequent flier parking for the two hospitals we use a lot so spend at least £40 on parking each month then extra for other appointments which come up at different hospitals

[Jaxhog]

I kind of agree. The parking at our local hospital has become so difficult and expensive, that I now park in the nearby shopping centre and walk.

But it isn't as bad as Stoke Mandeville. I recently had to drop off a very ill friend on the road outside A&E, because there was no parking. Anywhere. Fortunately she made it (50 yards), but I was very concerned. No, we couldn't have gone by PT as it would have taken 5 hours!

The truth is, there just isn't enough parking at hospitals.

[cuppycups]

That wouldn't work at my local hospital. If you couldn't park in the hospital parking, you'd have to park 45 minutes away as it's all permit parking in the surrounding area. Great if you know someone living there and can get a visitor pass, but you can't obtain a visitor pass without knowing a resident.

Also what happens if you're in labour? Would you have to get a bus in?

[princesskatethefirst]

It's a silly idea, so many people need a space at the hospital. Everyday hundreds of people get radiotherapy at the hospital, your in for half an hour if your lucky so aren't taking a space for long but a lot of those people will be on chemo too with compromised immunity, do they have to get a bus too? Not everywhere has public transport. My hospital is 50 minutes away by car, I don't even know if there is a bus there but I doubt it. No everyone lives in a city.

[LolaSmiles]

You're not wrong about it being annoying when people make any old trip to hospital to be a mass family occasion. Like other posters, it annoys me when there's 2 or 3 adults and up to 4 children for 1 patient in A&E etc. It's not needed at all. Same for ultrasounds (though my local hospital I think only allows 2 visitors with the patient for that reason and they also have signs up managing expectations on number of visitors in visiting hours).

However, your plans OP are ridiculous, poorly considered, deeply simplistic and almost impossible to police.

[SpecterLitt]

[MaybeitsMaybelline]

I don’t know a hospital anywhere where there’s ample parking on site. It’s life.

DD works global shift pattern on rotation between two major city hospitals. She can finish on twilights at 3am, her car is parked 20 minutes brisk walk away at both sites. One is a hell hole part of the city, the other is a walk through a uni campus and park.

It’s what patients, staff and visitors all have to do. DD walks when she can and gets an Uber back to her car when it’s not safe.

I don’t think there is any easy solution.

[Processedpea]

The two London hospitals I go to are usually full but if you drive around people leave all the time just need patience which is hard sometimes!

[TheDarkPassenger]

@Lichtie


Ohhh I misinterpreted that then!

It was 3am anyway so no buses but yeah, that’s crazy at any time of the day really

[robinsarebins]

My brother had to go to another city to have a brain op. Should I have spent £18on a return train fare plus hours of my life away from work and my child to visit him once a week for the 8 weeks he was in hospital?
Or drive an hour up the road and pay an extortionate but less than £18fee to park?
The hospital he's in now is only 20 minutes up the road by car. It would take me 2buses and over an hour to get there by public transport. So no.

[SauvignonBlanche]

I spent 6 weeks in a specialist hospital, miles from home with a brain tumour.
DH and the DCs, one of whom has ASD, should not have been allowed to come and visit by car?
I find it’s usually a good idea to not post about something that I’m generally ignorant about.

[Lovelydovey]

Surely it’s about being proportionate and only using a car when the alternative isn’t feasible. My main hospital is 15 mins drive, 40 mins walk, 20 mins on a bus that runs every 10 mins during the day. So the only time I have ever been in a car was when I was in labour or taking a child to A&E. For routine appointments (or even minor injuries) and visits I will walk or get public transport.

But many people don’t think that way and the car is still the default option. Nobody is expecting people to make crazy journeys via public transport but instead to think whether there could another option which won’t inconvenience them much and could free up parking space for those who need it more (staff, patients or visitors).

[MissConductUS]

Isn't a diagram required for a parking thread?

[AlexaAmbidextra]

a pregnancy antenatal appointment could mean any number of things such as an ectopic or pre eclampsia which are also life threatening

Now you’re being dramatic in an attempt to justify why you, when you were pregnant, deserved to be able to park. The vast majority of ante-natal appointments are routine.

[BikeRunSki]

^
Why should staff have any more right to park than visitors. In any other sector where parking is limited staff will be the first people told to use public transport or park elsewhere.^
Because many hospital staff work antisocial hours, which do not lend themselves to using public transport.

[SnuggyBuggy]

Also sometimes you want to hire the best person for a job and not just someone who happens to be living on the right bus route