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Original poster

NHS staff hit with massive parking fines

78 replies

clairethewitch70 · 17/07/2017 17:09

This is in Wales' biggest hospital.

The Welsh Assembly abolished hospital parking charges, but the UHW is under a contract still. Staff are handing their notices in and one nurse says she will have to sell her house to pay the fines.

There are 6,000 staff but only 1,800 staff parking spaces. It they use a visitor space they get a ticket.

A judge ruled that staff have to pay £128 per ticket issued.

www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/more-70-doctors-nurses-taken-13338896

This is my local hospital. I am wondering if the Welsh Assembly will step in.

OP posts:
Floralnomad · 18/07/2017 12:23

I love that suggestion , finish a 13 hour night shift , where you've likely had no break and then cycle 2/3 miles in the rain/ fog / sleet to get back to your car . I think I'd rather find a different job . Also I might add you are probably adding an 30 mins / an hour to your shift either side - brilliant.

FormerlyFrikadela01 · 18/07/2017 12:26

There is very good bus service to the hospital and the staff who have trouble parking their cars could very easily travel by bus, even just part of the way (new park and ride scheme has been set up, making it even easier).

Does the park and ride actually run in accordance with shift times though? Because we had one where I used to work that started at 8 and finished at 7 so only suitable for people working 9-5 type hours.

rascallyrascal · 18/07/2017 12:28

Can I point out that a lot of the fines were given after the ticket had run out. They bought a ticket, went to work and were late getting out so they got a fine. Not really very fair. My colleague got a fine because he was late out and it expired. He was late out because a patient went into cardiac arrest.

WhichJob · 18/07/2017 13:07

Can I point out that a lot of the fines were given after the ticket had run out. They bought a ticket, went to work and were late getting out so they got a fine. Not really very fair.

I'm sure if these fines had been appealed and substantiated then they would have been waived.

The transportation arrangements I mention up thread are alternatives, there are options and choices open to NHS staff, you might not feel they are very attractive but I would prefer - and I have done - to cycle several miles to make my commute cheaper/more convenient in the long run.

Sustainable Travel to Work programmes from the NHS Trust's would be best, but as I have said before, many, many, many people work anti social shifts in other industries where there isn't any parking at all.

cushioncovers · 18/07/2017 13:14

And as someone who helps at NHS recruitment fairs I can tell you it's a big issue for prospective staff. The first question I nearly always get asked isn't about the preceptorship rotation it's about what staff parking is like.

I agree when I looked at working for another trust/hospital I looked into the parking and it was a nightmare. No spaces, staff walking around the city on their own at night going back to their cars. Vandalism to their cars by disgruntled homeowners etc So I didn't bother applying for the job because of it.

rascallyrascal · 18/07/2017 13:25

Whichjob. They were appealed and they lost. He had to pay the fine anyway. We start at 7am. The park and ride starts at 8 I believe. I finish at 8. The park and ride stops before them. The bus costs £10 a day and runs at ridiculous times and I live 10+ miles away. Sometimes we have to drive.

PossumInAPearTree · 18/07/2017 13:25

I think the fact hospital shifts are long shifts often unsocial hours where no public transport is available and you're finishing at 9pm in the dark should be a consideration.

WhichJob · 18/07/2017 13:32

Rascally, I agree that park and rides are generally not ideal time wise which is counter productive when most places need traffic to be kept away as much as possible.

But this is exactly where the Trust's should make an arrangment with the council to put on extra buses/provide their own minibus to the sites to help their staff get to/from work particularly if it is affecting staff retention.

WhichJob · 18/07/2017 13:34

Rascally, I should have added that the hospital should have a procedure where if a member of staff works late then they can authorise for any fees to be waived. Like what happens at out of town shopping areas with parking control, ASDA can say, yes WhichJob spent three hours in our store and overstayed by half an hour. Please waive the fee.

CremeFresh · 18/07/2017 13:38

Our local hospital has recently sold off land for more houses to be built, why didn't they hold a bit of land back to make another car park ?

MonsterQueen · 18/07/2017 13:40

I am a Nurse and I worked there in the early 90's before the multi-story car park.

I think if they could not find a staff parking place, they should have paid for parking rather than risking a fine. Likely they could not pay in advance for a full shift, so they should have informed management and left the workplace to top up/move the car as appropriate.

Regardless of their role, they were breaking the law. No sympathy here.

Autofillcontact · 18/07/2017 13:46

This is awful but I can't get past the fact someone has bothered pretending they are going to sell their house to pay parking tickets Hmm they're sort of losing their point in ridiculousness when they start making things up

missyB1 · 18/07/2017 14:33

MonsterQueen the staff would already have paid for their parking surely? To be in the staff scheme at our hospital it comes directly out of your wages - doesn't mean you will be able to park though.
So are you suggesting they should have paid again by parking in the visitors/ patients car park and buying a ticket? At our Hospital that would get you a parking fine as staff cannot park in the public's car park.

TroysMammy · 18/07/2017 14:38

Why do they have to pay to park? The 2 hospitals in Swansea have free parking, allegedly the university and dvla staff take the piss and park there for free and some dvla staff use it as park and ride.

missyB1 · 18/07/2017 14:45

So are there no car parking charges at all at Swansea hospitals? Wow that's unusual these days.

Hoppinggreen · 18/07/2017 14:52

I have a parking permit for 2 local hospitals as a "perk" due to a voluntary position I hold. I have NEVER been able to use it as there has never been a space so I have to use the visitors car parks and pay each time. As I have a staff permit I would get fined for not paying in the visitors car parks ( although I probably could get it quashed) so I either pay or park 10 minutes away and walk.
It's crap for staff who can't park onsite but if they break the rules repeatedly and just cross their fingers that there will be no fines then they are being a bit daft.

TroysMammy · 18/07/2017 14:53

Welsh Assembly confirmed in 2011 that car parking would be free unless parking is run by private companies and car parking costs would be reduced until their contracts expired.

mummabubs · 18/07/2017 15:42

@MonsterQueen you still have to pay £1.05 a day even with a permit and they had paid!

Believeitornot · 18/07/2017 15:46

Many, many, many people work in low paid jobs that don't come with free parking so I don't see why these nurses should be allowed to park for free in the circumstances outlined. At the hospital near me many hospital staff park a couple of miles away and cycle the rest of the way to work. Too many of us use our cars when there are better alternatives which is why there is so much congestion

What, so because other people don't have parking nurses shouldn't? Hmm this argument makes no sense and is borne of childish jealousy. It's like hearing my 5 year old.

These are people doing an incredibly important job. They need parking.

Or the government needs to invest in public transport.

thesleepingdogsarelying · 18/07/2017 15:54

Our local hospital has recently sold off land for more houses to be built, why didn't they hold a bit of land back to make another car park ?

The NHS is being stripped of all its assets.

nursingnotes.co.uk/may-vows-implement-naylor-report-sell-off-surplus-nhs-property/

StealthPolarBear · 18/07/2017 16:07

"missyB1

The bottom line is do we want our NHS staff to be able to come to work or don't we?"
Completely agree. Somewhere up the line in the trusts someone has a staffing or a staff morale issue if people are being ripped off to park and then not able to anyway, and are being advised to go home.
And as for the staff given a fine because they were late back... disgusting.

StealthPolarBear · 18/07/2017 16:08

We have lovely free parking where I work but there are fines if you park outside of the spaces. I've told my staff if they get to work and can't park in a space to go home and work there. A luxury we can accommodate but nurses should not be penalised.

WhichJob · 18/07/2017 17:14

Believe, insult me all you like but the fact remains that the law agrees with me. They broke the rules and thought they could get away with it and found they couldn't. Whether or not you or anyone else disagrees with the rules is another matter.

It is not sustainable for hospitals to offer thousands of staff free parking so people have to find other ways of getting to work or cough up and pay.

rascallyrascal · 18/07/2017 17:47

Monsterqueen you want them to stop CPR and treating patients to call the parking people and tell them they will be late? Yeah ok.

cdtaylornats · 18/07/2017 18:02

Surely if there were more parking tickets sold than available spaces then it is fraud.

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