Hospital parking……rant!

The machine in our car park is card only. This is so there is no money in the machine and it doesn’t get broken in to or need emptying. This means you not only need a phone but a card. You don’t need a smart phone as you can ring in and pay if your card isn’t contactless. No phone, no card you need someone who will help you. Such is the way of the modern world.

If payment just be made by an app that supposes everyone has a smart phone. We don't and know several people who don't.

One of our hospitals used to be free, but because it was near an airport people were leaving their cars there for their fortnight holiday. It's bad enough at times trying to get a parking spot, never mind it clogged up with holiday makers cars. The main hospital in Belfast is dreadful for parking, you sit in a queue for ages, I actually got from my home to the hospital quicker than the time it took to park.

Cancer perk, free hospital parking curtesy of Macmillan. Thank you.

Recently I have taken my Dh and my Dd for hospital appointments. Couldn’t get parked so got in a queue for the car park and dropped them off. Both times , they have been out following their consultations before I’ve been able to get parked. I wanted to go in with them but obviously missed out.

When I was visiting DH every day for three weeks i drove to the park and ride, then bus to hospital. It took about an hour and a half, much longer than driving but much less stressful. Getting the bus back was more difficult as so many were cancelled, so I left early in order to be home at a reasonable time. I am not sure I can expect DH to do the same for his appointment next week. He will be exhausted.

My local general hospital is also a parking nightmare, with only 15mins free drop off time allowed, always full with cars parked on every bit of visible grass.

The hospital flogged it to a private company years ago and everyone, including staff have to pay the exorbitant charges.

The annoying thing is that we have 3 Park and Ride bus services into town, and none of them go past the hospital!

Another one here struggling with the central Bristol hospitals. Mr C is being treated at the Heart Institute, waiting surgery. It’s an hour journey for us, we allow two and a half hours in hope the extra time will allow us to find a space where can manage the walk back to the car, the surrounding steep hills are real obstacles. My issues make walking up a hill very painful, Mr C struggles to breathe. There are three Blue Badge spaces at the bottom of the slope where the building work is being carried out. We arrived at 7..00 am for an 8.30 day ward admission and were so relieved to see one available, all the other spaces along the entry road were full. Last week it became plain Mr C can no longer walk from the bus station, the hill is too much, we’ll get a taxi from there next time. The lack of accessible parking makes a stressful appointment more difficult than many of the younger, able bodied staff can understand. I’ll use buses to visit when Mr C is admitted, two hours each way but so much less stressful. I feel for anyone struggling with parking for a hospital appointment.

I expressed very clearly my wish to go to a certain hospital. My doctor wanted me to use the local one but I refuse to go there as it us impossible to park whereas one a few miles further away has loads of parking, it is rarely a problem. Better for my blood pressure! I also go that Oxford hospital every six months as I am part of a research project. We go to the ‘park and ride’ and get the bus that takes us into the hospital and the parking is not expensive.

I wouldn’t like a taxi for a 90 mile round trip with a 60 year old with severe special educational needs.

Hetty58

Why not just get a cab to the door? It's either impossible to find a space, very expensive - and/or a whole load of aggravation.

Too far/expensive.

I live 43 miles from one of the three hospitals I have to attend regularly, 25 miles from another, and a mere 10 from the last.

For the first, a taxi is c£85 each way, and for the second it’s c£45 each way.

Public transport is theoretically possible, but would take a minimum of 2 hours each way, and mean driving to, and paying to park at, a station 10 miles away (we have no non-rush hour buses). It would be more expensive and inconvenient than hospital parking.

I hate to think what a taxi would have cost. We live more than 50 miles away from the specialist hospital DH was sent to and he was a patient for 5 days.

Sorry that was to Callistemon

Callistemon21

Grannybags

My husband recently spent two weeks in a hospital in the centre of Bristol with no car park on site. Only NCP car parks available. I spent nearly £200 on parking!!

I know where you mean, it is shocking.
I had to go for appointments to the Eye Infirmary nearby years ago and the nearest multi storey car park charged per 20 minutes!!

Callistemon
I’ve sent you a PM.

I used to have to take my Mum there regularly and my BiL would drop us off and wait in Ikea till we were ready to come home!

Hetty58

Why not just get a cab to the door? It's either impossible to find a space, very expensive - and/or a whole load of aggravation.

When I had a colonoscopy last year it was too early for OH to drive me. His medication means he isn’t really with it until around noon. I booked a taxi which cost nearly £40. Fortunately OH was able to collect me.

Callistemon21

Grannybags

My husband recently spent two weeks in a hospital in the centre of Bristol with no car park on site. Only NCP car parks available. I spent nearly £200 on parking!!

I know where you mean, it is shocking.
I had to go for appointments to the Eye Infirmary nearby years ago and the nearest multi storey car park charged per 20 minutes!!

But at least the Eye Hospital is right next to the bus station and the BRI and Children’s Hospital are close by. When dh was in the Heart Centre I caught the bus in using my bus pass and walked up from the Bus Station. It’s impossible to find a parking space in the small car park and they are building on it again. The mayor doesn’t want any cars in Bristol centre either.

Parking is very expensive at our local hospital IF you are lucky enough to find a space.
As others have said it makes a stressful situation even more stressful.
Most people here use taxis or get someone to drop them off and then ring for a lift back when they are out.

Why not just get a cab to the door? It's either impossible to find a space, very expensive - and/or a whole load of aggravation.

The Oxford hospitals are notorious for their dreadful parking. If one of us has an appointment the other goes along too so they can park. Once or twice there hasn’t been a space and OH had to sit in a queue while I had my consultation. The only time I’ve driven myself was when I had appointments at 8 am on a Saturday!

It’s an absolute disgrace.

Grannybags

My husband recently spent two weeks in a hospital in the centre of Bristol with no car park on site. Only NCP car parks available. I spent nearly £200 on parking!!

I know where you mean, it is shocking.
I had to go for appointments to the Eye Infirmary nearby years ago and the nearest multi storey car park charged per 20 minutes!!

Knowing I have to get to the hospital with time to spare driving round and round to grab a parking space then the expense and sometimes method of payment does not help at all. As sago has said I too wonder about the stress for others for myself it is bad enough. One day a queue had built up at a machine with a new system because it took ages for one of us to spot the small print on the nearby sign that receipts were not issued, even though the machine itself asked if you wanted a receipt.

Public transport in our area just keeps shrinking, making it impossible to connect even if you have the entire day to travel! A relative is often able to use two buses but then pays for a taxi to return home due to feeling washed out afterwards.

My husband recently spent two weeks in a hospital in the centre of Bristol with no car park on site. Only NCP car parks available. I spent nearly £200 on parking!!

Chestnut

I'm not sure how free parking for all works. Don't you get other people just using the car park? Hospitals are all so different in their location, but it might be convenient if the hospital in the town centre.

Just wondering how we managed to get to hospitals in years gone by when few people had a car. Although you weren't allowed to visit very much in those days. It was a case of the patient being dumped there and they were lucky to have a visitor.

There can be a problem with that and the Trust presumably has to fund the cost of the car park attendants too.

But I think it's preferable than making very sick people pay large sums for parking at a hospital.