A tax on the sick

[Violet1956]

Today I was reminded about how ridiculous hospital parking charges are. My neighbour who had an operation on her left foot earlier this year was issued with a PCN for being 15 minutes beyond the £1.50 charge for parking outside a local hospital. She had only attended to pick up some inserts for her shoes from the podiatry department. A careful podiatrist notice she was walking badly and so kept her behind for investigation and treatment. She can't walk that fast (it goes with the territory!) so she could not leave and feed the meter. Now she has a PCN. I have sent an email asking for it to be cancelled. Watch this space. If the jobsworths at our local council don't waive it I am going on the warpath. This parking is on a public street outside the hospital grounds. There is nothing around there likely to cause anyone to park there except if they are visiting the hospital. It is just a cash cow. >:-)

 

Veronica

[StuartO]

So she understood what the charges were and she made a choice when she fed the meter; she didn't give herself any flexibility by paying a bit more and it didn't work out.  She over stayed on the meter so she has to pay the price.  She needn't have parked there at all; she could have travelled by bus; there's always a way of getting to a hospital by bus.

 

What's the outrage for?

 

[Violet1956]

StuartO - 2017-12-06 5:53 PMSo she understood what the charges were and she made a choice when she fed the meter; she didn't give herself any flexibility by paying a bit more and it didn't work out.  She over stayed on the meter so she has to pay the price.  She needn't have parked there at all; she could have travelled by bus; there's always a way of getting to a hospital by bus.

 

What's the outrage for?

Not in our area Stuart the bus service is crap. Would you have anticipated that it would take more than an hour simply to pick up stuff that had been ordered from your last appointment? Anyway I am hoping for a more sympathetic response from the local authority.

[antony1969]

Rules are rules ... No sympathy

[pepe63xnotuse]

If they are going to charge at all (and lets be honest, the amount of misuse some hospital car parks get, charges were inevitable) I can't see why they can't be configured so that people just pay on exit? (like the bulk of multi-storeys are/were..?).

*...that way people can't get massively caught out if/when they overrun..

(*maybe I've just answered my own question...?)

[John52]

pepe63 - 2017-12-06 6:15 PM

 

hospital car parks get, charges were inevitable

 

Not in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, thanks to the bungs they have received from the English Taxpayer to buy Tory votes.

[Violet1956]

pepe63 - 2017-12-06 6:15 PM

 

If they are going to charge at all (and lets be honest, the amount of misuse some hospital car parks get, charges were inevitable) I can't see why they can't be configured so that people just pay on exit? (like the bulk of multi-storeys are/were..?).

*...that way people can't get massively caught out if/when they overrun..

(*maybe I've just answered my own question...?)

 

I think you have answered your own question. If I can park in a charging car park and get a refund if I spend more than £15 in the adjacent Waitrose or show that I am visiting a nearby gym/swimming pool etc on production of a little tear off bit, I cannot understand why hospital car parking systems cannot be brought up to date so as to reflect whether the users are there on associated business or not. Unless of course it is just a revenue collecting exercise.

[RogerC]

John52 - 2017-12-06 7:28 PM

pepe63 - 2017-12-06 6:15 PMhospital car parks get, charges were inevitable

Not in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, thanks to the bungs they have received from the English Taxpayer to buy Tory votes.

Selective bitterness John.  The 'bungs' as you call it have been administered and disbursed under Con/Lab and coalition governments for many a year so your peevishness and bias is once more laid bare for all to see.   As always the purveyor of nonsense John.  Well done...keep it up.

[RogerC]

Violet1956 - 2017-12-06 8:52 PM

pepe63 - 2017-12-06 6:15 PMIf they are going to charge at all (and lets be honest, the amount of misuse some hospital car parks get, charges were inevitable) I can't see why they can't be configured so that people just pay on exit? (like the bulk of multi-storeys are/were..?).*...that way people can't get massively caught out if/when they overrun..(*maybe I've just answered my own question...?)

I think you have answered your own question. If I can park in a charging car park and get a refund if I spend more than £15 in the adjacent Waitrose or show that I am visiting a nearby gym/swimming pool etc on production of a little tear off bit, I cannot understand why hospital car parking systems cannot be brought up to date so as to reflect whether the users are there on associated business or not. Unless of course it is just a revenue collecting exercise.

....and there's the answer.  Councils getting above themselves and damn anyone who dares get in the way of revenue earning.....even those attending hospital.

Like you Veronica....no pun intended.....it makes me sick.

[Bulletguy]

 

Veronica

 

Your neighbour will probably find she will get it cancelled but meantime she will find people on this site extremely helpful (it's free to register): http://forums.pepipoo.com/

 

PCN's are not a fine.....they are a notice, that's all, so check first it's definitely from your local Council as most now contract out to private parking companies which is where all this trouble has stemmed from. Also she needs to go back and have a look at the road, check for any signage, yellow lining etc and take photographs.

 

She has the right to appeal it anyway but i'd definitely recommend that forum site. She will get plenty of advice and help off there.

[Violet1956]

Bulletguy - 2017-12-06 9:29 PM

 

 

Veronica

 

Your neighbour will probably find she will get it cancelled but meantime she will find people on this site extremely helpful (it's free to register): http://forums.pepipoo.com/

 

PCN's are not a fine.....they are a notice, that's all, so check first it's definitely from your local Council as most now contract out to private parking companies which is where all this trouble has stemmed from. Also she needs to go back and have a look at the road, check for any signage, yellow lining etc and take photographs.

 

She has the right to appeal it anyway but i'd definitely recommend that forum site. She will get plenty of advice and help off there.

 

Thanks for the info BG. The PCN issued to her allowed for a challenge to be sent directly to the local authority who have acknowledged my email. My faith in humanity will be restored if they waive the PCN. i just wish there was a proper system which recognised that no one can be entirely confident about how long they are going to be when visiting a hospital for treatment. I have another elderly neighbour I sometimes take to his appointments at a local private hospital and the car park is free. To mind mind that demonstrates that there is something seriously wrong about parking charges in NHS hospitals. We've paid already for treatment to be given to the sick on the NHS so it is not right to use the sick as an additional source of revenue. Raising taxes, or perhaps more appropriately having more efficient ways of collecting them is an appropriate way of funding the NHS, rather than introducing indirect taxes on the sick.

[colin]

If I get the choice I go to a private hospital (on NHS) the parking is free!

Our local NHS hospitals now have pay on leaving, gone are the days of having to go back to the car every few hours to top up when you have no idea how long you will be.

[PJay]

StuartO - 2017-12-06 5:53 PMSo she understood what the charges were and she made a choice when she fed the meter; she didn't give herself any flexibility by paying a bit more and it didn't work out.  She over stayed on the meter so she has to pay the price.  She needn't have parked there at all; she could have travelled by bus; there's always a way of getting to a hospital by bus.

 

What's the outrage for?

Not in our area either! we have a major hospital 5 min drive from our house, BUt no buses come anywhere near our house. Would have to walk 10/15 mins to bus, The return would be worse, as it would take much longer as the walk is up a very steep hill. Parking is charged on exit, and if you have long term treatment, you only pay for 1 hour, and get alternate days free. Some more bus routes have been cut out in this area. They do pay for patients to stay in a B&B, if they have treatment on a daily basis , and have to travel on the ferry from the Isle of white, so some good , and if you own a car, you have to expect to pay for parking these daysi would cancel the "Winter fuel payment" How many spend it on fuel???PJay

[Bulletguy]

Violet1956 - 2017-12-06 10:08 PM

 

Bulletguy - 2017-12-06 9:29 PM

 

 

Veronica

 

Your neighbour will probably find she will get it cancelled but meantime she will find people on this site extremely helpful (it's free to register): http://forums.pepipoo.com/

 

PCN's are not a fine.....they are a notice, that's all, so check first it's definitely from your local Council as most now contract out to private parking companies which is where all this trouble has stemmed from. Also she needs to go back and have a look at the road, check for any signage, yellow lining etc and take photographs.

 

She has the right to appeal it anyway but i'd definitely recommend that forum site. She will get plenty of advice and help off there.

 

Thanks for the info BG. The PCN issued to her allowed for a challenge to be sent directly to the local authority who have acknowledged my email. My faith in humanity will be restored if they waive the PCN. i just wish there was a proper system which recognised that no one can be entirely confident about how long they are going to be when visiting a hospital for treatment. I have another elderly neighbour I sometimes take to his appointments at a local private hospital and the car park is free. To mind mind that demonstrates that there is something seriously wrong about parking charges in NHS hospitals. We've paid already for treatment to be given to the sick on the NHS so it is not right to use the sick as an additional source of revenue. Raising taxes, or perhaps more appropriately having more efficient ways of collecting them is an appropriate way of funding the NHS, rather than introducing indirect taxes on the sick.

Let me restore your faith in the NHS!

 

My local which is best described as pretty damn huge and continually growing, has car parking all over the place. All are metered but when i was attending the outpatient dept after an operation they gave me a pass to use. The same when one of my mates was in hospital, they gave his wife an open pass she could use any time. Obviously i can't speak for all hospitals and i suppose much depends on the locality etc but that's how mine works.

 

Errmm.......we won't need raise taxes to fund the NHS because they're going to get £350 million a week remember. ;-) That's £18 billion 200 million a year.

Hammond flippantly dismissed NHS head Simon Stevens as 'predicting Armageddon' for daring to beg for a £4bn emergency cash injection.......so gave 'em a couple of £bn.

[Violet1956]

PJay - 2017-12-06 10:19 PM

StuartO - 2017-12-06 5:53 PMSo she understood what the charges were and she made a choice when she fed the meter; she didn't give herself any flexibility by paying a bit more and it didn't work out.  She over stayed on the meter so she has to pay the price.  She needn't have parked there at all; she could have travelled by bus; there's always a way of getting to a hospital by bus.

 

What's the outrage for?

Not in our area either! we have a major hospital 5 min drive from our house, BUt no buses come anywhere near our house. Would have to walk 10/15 mins to bus, The return would be worse, as it would take much longer as the walk is up a very steep hill. Parking is charged on exit, and if you have long term treatment, you only pay for 1 hour, and get alternate days free. Some more bus routes have been cut out in this area. They do pay for patients to stay in a B&B, if they have treatment on a daily basis , and have to travel on the ferry from the Isle of white, so some good , and if you own a car, you have to expect to pay for parking these daysI would cancel the "Winter fuel payment" How many spend it on fuel???PJay

People who are being treated shouldn't have to pay a penny in my view Pauline. I would like to see a countrywide policy that bans parking charges for patients visiting hospitals for treatment. What I find is another complete joke is that at my local hospital there's a non-refundable charge for parking in the A & E section. Strikes me that there should be no difference between charges levied on those admitted via ambulance and those using their own transport. Park in A& E and be given a pass to exit after your treatment shouldn't be too difficult should it?

[Bulletguy]

PJay - 2017-12-06 10:19 PM

 

i would cancel the "Winter fuel payment" How many spend it on fuel???

I do, and the payment covers just 33 days absolute max.

 

All those 'snowbirding' Brits should certainly lose the entitlement as what are they spending it on other than cheap booze and fish 'n chips.

 

[StuartO]

Violet1956 - 2017-12-07 1:44 PM People who are being treated shouldn't have to pay a penny in my view

 

That's a point of view and some people doubtless think  that because they pay road tax they should never have to pay for parking.

 

But it doesn't provide grounds for appealing a PCN when a driver, knowing the score, chose to over-run the meter.  No one prevented her from popping out to feed the meter when she realised she was going to take longer than anticipated, she chose not to. She wasn't prevented from doing so because she was being treated continuously let alone because she was attached to a life support system.  She took a calculated risk and it didn't work out - stop moaning!

 

[John52]

RogerC - 2017-12-06 9:02 PM

 

Selective bitterness John.  

Just as I predicted.

When I have benefitted from the unfair system you call me a hypocrite.

When I haven't you call me bitter.

Your way of defending an unfair system is by making nasty personal attacks on those who point it out

 

[derek pringle]

hi Violet,

I could not agree with you more, it's an absolute disgrace to charge people for attending hospital,even if they don't overrun on the meter. If you have a relative in hospital for say a week and visited twice per day the money would soon mount up. Where we live has had a series of bus series over the last couple of months so this would have an impact. Lots of patients would depending on their problem may find walking or travelling other than by car/taxi not suitable. Some on here really talk like they are in the lifeboat and chuff you mate.Rules are rules I understand but we hear enough moaning about the rules that prevent wild camping for instance, I for one would have more sympathy for a patient than a motorhome who doesn't want to stay on sites,just an example.

cheers and best of luck getting the fine squashed.

derek

[pepe63xnotuse]

StuartO - 2017-12-07 8:53 AM

 

...  She took a calculated risk and it didn't work out

 

That's pretty much the way I'd look at it..(although I may still question it, just to see what happens? )

She may well be just as annoyed with herself, for not just sticking the bit extra in for the next "banding"?

(as, surely they don't just issue 1 1/2 hour slots at a time?)

 

OT- As for the disparity between England the rest of the UK, personally I would've thought the £8.50 (ish?) prescription charge that is only levied at those living in England, is a far bigger issue than the few quid charged in a hospital car park..

(not that the bulk of users on here would have had to pay for their prescriptions for quite some time.... ;-) )

 

(Apologies Derek P , I've just noticed that I'd crossed your post)

[StuartO]

derek pringle - 2017-12-08 12:23 AM...it's an absolute disgrace to charge people for attending hospital,even if they don't overrun on the meter. If you have a relative in hospital for say a week and visited twice per day the money would soon mount up....  Some on here really talk like they are in the lifeboat and chuff you mate.....  best of luck getting the fine squashed.derek

Perfectly OK to argue for no charges for parking at hospitals but we do currently have charges, so why defend someone who chose to overrun the meter?

 

Hospitals have special provision for people who need to use the parking extensively - for example my sister was given a special discount pass when she was having daily chemo and I had some sort of pass (can't remember what) when we were sitting by my dying mum's bedside night and day.  Ideally of course there would be plenty of parking at hospitals and it would be free to all - but hospitals are often located in cramped circumstances and parking isn't currently free.  It isn't a question of lifeboats and who's already in them at all; that was a silly remark.

 

Can we not distinguish between special needs for parking privileges and the vast bulk of people who park at hospitals who, because we do currently have charges, shouldn't moan if they get fined because they have been, in effect, caught cheating?

 

[Violet1956]

StuartO - 2017-12-07 8:53 AM

Violet1956 - 2017-12-07 1:44 PM People who are being treated shouldn't have to pay a penny in my view

 

That's a point of view and some people doubtless think  that because they pay road tax they should never have to pay for parking.

 

But it doesn't provide grounds for appealing a PCN when a driver, knowing the score, chose to over-run the meter.  No one prevented her from popping out to feed the meter when she realised she was going to take longer than anticipated, she chose not to. She wasn't prevented from doing so because she was being treated continuously let alone because she was attached to a life support system.  She took a calculated risk and it didn't work out - stop moaning!

She is 75 years old has rheumatoid arthritis and a gammy foot -I'll be moaning to the cows come home. >:-)

[antony1969]

Given she's got arthritis , 75 and a gammy foot surely a taxi may have been more suitable and less dangerous to her and others

[Violet1956]

antony1969 - 2017-12-07 9:47 AM

 

Given she's got arthritis , 75 and a gammy foot surely a taxi may have been more suitable and less dangerous to her and others

 

Drives an automatic - no doctor has told her she is unfit to drive. I've nagged her about getting a blue badge but she's old school and doesn't like to ask for special treatment. It was me who swiped the ticket off her to make representations. She was going to pay it, so comments about her 'cheating' are misplaced, she didn't moan about it at all these are my views not hers.

[pepe63xnotuse]

Violet1956 - 2017-12-07 9:52 AM

 

antony1969 - 2017-12-07 9:47 AM

 

Given she's got arthritis , 75 and a gammy foot surely a taxi may have been more suitable and less dangerous to her and others

 

Drives an automatic - no doctor has told her she is unfit to drive....

 

Is that supposed to make her "case" stronger?.... :-S

 

;-)