Nhs Parking

[Bobbisox1]

I’m surprised no one has posted this yet, , surely NHS staff should always be exempt from parking fees ....always

https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-government-urged-to-u-turn-over-car-parking-charges-for-nhs-staff-12023502

[Boto]

There is now free parking in Wales. When everyone had to pay you could at least find a parking space without having to drive round, and round, and round...

[Old_Geezer]

Yes they should. As should visitors be.

[jourdain2]

Agree with O-G. Once or twice I have been able to hand over a ticket to a nurse and save her an hour's parking fees.

When Mr J2 was in the coronary care unit for a while, it transpired that I could get a ticket stamped to avoid paying - but I didn't discover that facility until the day he was discharged! Cost me a small fortune because it wasn't exactly advertised.

[Hymie]

Many years ago in the area where I used to live, the local council started charging staff for parking at their town centre offices.
I recall at the time there was no outcry at this imposition.

Sometime later, by chance while trawling through the massive amount of information posted online by the council, I came across a document that showed the council had increased their staff pay to compensate them for this parking charge.

So it was not the council staff who were paying the parking fees, but the council tax payers.

[Peter Pedant]

// it transpired that I could get a ticket stamped to avoid paying //

I was approached for a parking fee for a nice young lady. I told her to get her ticket stamped in the ward that her child was on. No child. no sick child. no nothing and it tramspired .....
that it was a lady of the night on a day shift working a hospital car park !
I said er I was on duty

[Gromit]

No.
Hospital spending should be on care of patients not subsidising parking for staff or patients. Parking costs money, which should not come from NHS expenditure.
Hospitals have good public transport connections. Driving to work for staff is easier for them and convenient, but we shouldn’t encourage it. A lot of ill health is due to lack of exercise and obesity. The NHS should not be granting privileges to encourage staff to lead unhealthy lifestyles.

[tomus42]

Perhaps we could reintroduce clapping them for a couple of minutes once a week instead. Same thing next time MPs want to vote themselves a pay rise, we just applaud them rather than stump up the money.

[tomus42]

Gromit would like everyone to ride a bike to work of course. Meanwhile back in the real world, not everyone can do that.

[Gromit]

tomus42
Not everyone travelling by bike (or walking or public transport), but some.
I have neighbour who is a nurse but does a day shift. So buses are available. 15 minute walk, or 10 minute cycle. She drives, spends £x? on parking and is in her 20s and 18 stone. And depriving a visitor to a sick patient a parking spot.
Obviously that is anecdotal but is not untypical. I worked for a transport consultancy, and our surveys of many hospital nationwide, showed that staff tended to live very close to their hospital but nearly ALWAYs drove even though it was costly to park.

[teacake44]

Reading some of these posts, its seems its not taken long to start pulling the doctors a nurses to bits for going to work by car. No one has a had a bad word to say about them for the last 6 months. Funny that?

[AuntPollyGrey]

I'm surprised Chilldoubt hasn't piped up on this thread. He was arguing on another forum it was ok for nurses and doctors to park in disabled bays at the hospital as they needed it more than the disabled people.
In my opinion all NHS car parks should be free to staff and patients, Its disgraceful you have to pay to see a sick relative or go for treatment.

[MynameisLuca]

How much does it cost for the hospital staff to park? I'm sure they'd have a discount on parking.

[woofgang]

the problem with free parking in hospitals APG is that where hospitals are near other facilities then people just come in and use the free parking and go off shopping or whatever rather than paying to park. Its the same as when parking in the hospital is cheaper than parking in commercial car parks. Sad but true.

[AuntPollyGrey]

woofgang that problem could be solved by issuing a token at the hospital reception to allow you to leave the carpark via an arm parking barrier.

[TonyV]

Our local hospital car park is run by a private parking company, don't know what % the NHS get.

[Gromit]

TonyV

Car Parks cost a lot of money to run. The hospital may not be getting anything from a Private firm running it, but they will be making a significant saving by not doing it themselves.
Parking is one of the costs of running a car. Why should other people’s taxes be used o provide you with free parking ?