Hospital Parking Charge - AIBU to think this is outrageous?

[AgileLemonShark]

In January, I had driven DS (13) to a GP appointment and was told to take him straight to the hospital as an emergency as GP thought he had appendicitis.

There were no spaces when we got there as usual (I have a disabled badge and no disabled spaces either), so we drove around for 5-10 minutes waiting but no cars were moving so I decided to park on an access road to one of the car parks near the A&E entrance.

This access road has been used as ‘overflow’ parking for all years I’ve lived here (20). I had parked there many times before including a few weeks before for a routine clinic appointment. Other cars were parked along there but I noticed they’d put double yellow lines down which weren’t there before so they must have done it recently, but had to take a chance as needed to get my DS into the hospital and I was in a panic as DS has Type 1 diabetes and I was petrified of possible surgery and complications,

When we got in, I couldn’t leave him to go and try to move the car as didn’t know how long I’d be trying to find a space as hospital is a huge area with multiple car parks, and we might have been called. We were then waiting to be called for a scan, his blood sugars weren’t stable and I wasn’t going to leave him unsupervised. When my husband got to the hospital after work about two hours later I immediately went to move my car and it had a penalty ticket on it.

I appealed under extenuating circumstances when was refused, then went to the parking adjudicator who also refused it.

I enclosed my son’s admission sheet showing he was admitted that day and had surgery, and a copy of disabled badge.

I would have thought that would be classed as extenuating circumstances which is what I appealed on.

I then left it as was furious it had been refused and am now being chased by a debt collection agent for £170 with the threat of court action. Think the original penalty was £70.

What was I supposed to do, drive out of the hospital to a car park 10-15 mins walk away and then get my son to walk back to the hospital? It was an emergency! His blood sugars were high and he was in too much pain to walk!

Maybe I should have driven back home and called an ambulance?

There was no loss incurred as we were exempt from parking charges due to the disabled badge.

I don’t want to pay it also don’t want a CCJ and extra court costs. I could understand if I caused an obstruction but why should they profit from my son needing emergency medical treatment and not having enough parking spaces?

PALs will not help and I emailed the onsite parking company today again and they said I lost my appeal so tough.

I am just so furious about this and think it is outrageous to rinse people for money who are having to visit a hospital.

AIBU?

Don't you get two or three hours on double yellows unless it's loading?

I'm so sorry, it sounds awful. Parking charges for staff and patients are wrong, in my view. If they want to close so many hospitals/GPs, they should at least provide parking, because far more people are going to fewer places. One hospital in our county has put in a multi-storey, but I know of so many other people who are stressed about parking when they should be focusing on their health.

I’ve had parking tickets for parking near A&E when I’ve been called in during the early hours to resuscitate a baby, even though I’ve displayed my emergency oncall parking pass. Hospital parking is insane.

Sorry should have titled it as Parking Penalty not Parking Charge.

What would other people genuinely have done in my situation with a Type 1 diabetic child with appendicitis, too big to carry, sent to hospital as an emergency? Carry on driving around or park further away then get him to walk back, or park safely and just get him into the hospital?

You did the right thing. You know you did the right thing.

This happens to staff all the time. You have to pay a fixed salary deduction every month, whether you can find a space or not. You still get fined if your badge slides off the dashboard by accident. Even though your registration number is cross referenced to your payment record. It happened to me and to colleagues several times.
The last hospital I worked in had no blue badge parking at all. My local one has some, but displaying the blue badge isn't enough. You have to walk into the building, register the badge, then go back to the car to display it.
Hospital parking is always very stressful.

We always get a taxi. My DP can't manage the walk from the car park, then his appointment, then back again. I always think the argument on here about not drinking when in charge of a child, in case you've got to drive them to hospital, is stupid, because you wouldn't drive, unless miles away.
Most local authorities are really clamping down on parking, my DP got a ticket attending the walk-in, with a blue badge, in a place that's allowed parking since forever.

I dont mind the parking fee in itself but if we have to go to hospital the fact I can't find a space leaves me really anxious, so if possible both myself and dh go.
If you are taking a Dc, on uour own, what the hell are you supposed to do? You can't drop them and go and find a space. If you drive around for 20 mins looking for a space you then have to walk the poorly child a distance, if they need a wheelchair do uou leave them in the car while you go and find one? No!
I literally gave our FC a piggy back from the carpark, as they were unable to.walk and they were kept in , had an op and were in hospital for 8 days.
I took afriend recently to a&e, advised by doc to attend. Luckily she was able to go in and register herself as I had to park away from the hospital and as local streets have parking permits it was a 15 minute walk. When she was released later the night I had to walk for the car and drive back to pick her up.
I do think they need better systems in place esp for a&e, and if issues like yours occur then some empathy/discretion should be used.

I drove to GP so was hardly going to drive 15 mins home then wait for a taxi! I hadn’t thought about there being no parking spaces tbh.

Good grief. You didn’t have to pay them I hope?

In my local hospital the practise is to tell receptionist what you had done and they can sort it with the parking company - too late now but advice to others

Think you will just have to suck it up OP

I'd make them take me to court, personally, but I'm a solicitor and understand why many would not want the hassle hanging over them.

Have a look on the MSE parking forums and see if there is anything which may help you, OP @AgileLemonShark People on there are shit hot on parking appeals.

The first time I appealed, and ended up paying. The second time I handed the ticket to a manager and told her it was her problem to sort out, not mine, but I wasn't paying.

This is one of those threads that you hope the press pick up on.
I would be writing to your MP to see if they will intervene. I’d be tempted to let it go to court and see what a judge makes of the parking companies actions but I fear that you would just end up with more cost.

Hospital parking is shit. I hope you get it resolved.

I was thinking of that tbh. The parking adjudicator accepts appeals on the basis of extreme circumstances preventing parking correctly with medical emergency being one. I thought appendicitis was an emergency! I cannot understand why my appeal was refused. It just said the road had double yellow lines.

I will go on MSE to see if there’s a way of calling off the dogs so to speak. I made the mistake of ringing the debt collection agency to tell them I’m not paying it so they have my number and I’m now getting calls as well as letters.

That’s disgusting.

Are appeals even winnable or just set up to pretend that avenue exists.

We did win a mass appeal the time the trust had up on all the computers as a screen saver that the main staff carpark was going to be closed, and we should display our staff parking badge in the visitor carpark, and then ticketed everyone who did that. But we only won because a genius colleague had taken a screenshot of the screensaver, and emailed it to half the trust as evidence.

I feel for you. However, your just need to pay it and out it behind you, as unfair as it is.

Huh you see I remember thinking to myself I’d do that but when we got into children’s A&E, there were a few people in the queue and it took about 30 mins to get to the receptionist because she was so slow, I was getting more and more stressed at DS looking deathly pale and in pain (which is triggering as we nearly lost him when he was undiagnosed Type 1) and I just forgot!

I think most parking appeals get rejected by the company at first instance. It's only when they go to Popla or equivalent tbat they seem to get looked at properly, if even then.

I won a Popla appeal. I had actually paid for a ticket for the period but had used their shitty app which at the time did not allow you to access any parking records. I could show on my bank statement the amount going to the parking company and the time.

My appeal to the company was based on showing I had paid for a ticket, met their ts and cs and that their app was rubbish compared with other apps which let you access your records. After reading the MSE Forums my appeal to POPLA was based on the parking company not keeping the registered keeper informed (my mum, as I was driving her in her car at the time) and the other bits as secondary elements, and I won on the basis that they had not kept the keeper informed.

Awful - YANBU. I thought you could park on yellow lines with a blue badge.
Hospital parking is a nightmare, I was moaning about it just yesterday, when I had to take DC to an appt and struggled with the mobile parking app.
It just adds extra stress to an already stressful experience.

There will be many people in the same situation so mo, it's not extenuating circumstances. I would have dropped him off and explained to the staff that you had to go and queue to park. The queue moves. It's the nature of people coming and then leaving all the time. I would have left mu number.

Alternatively, I would just have paid the £70 and move on.

Have had similar issues with having no parking but my dd was a teen so I have dropped her and her dsis off in the ambulance bay multiple times then gone to find parking, i never even attempted to find it before dropping her off. Thankfully exh’s work was under a 15 minute walk away so if a whip around the car park wasn’t fruitful I’d go there and plead with security to let me park, they always said yes. I appreciate not everyone is comfortable with dropping their child off nor has an amazingly competent younger child who knew the ropes and still is advocating for her sister a lot (adults) on all things exh related

I mean it's annoying for you and sounds really stressful (I'm glad your son's better) but £70 as the price of a life..? Let it go.

I have worked in several hospitals and every day there would be people with sad stories and parking issues. Of course. Nature of the building.

The key thing is that access to the hospital isn't blocked for patients, staff and ambulances, or everyone's in trouble.