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Care Opinion

Parking Eye, car park management

Posted By Rids

"Parking Eye, car park management"

About: North Tyneside General Hospital / General surgery Wansbeck Hospital / Diabetic medicine Wansbeck Hospital / General surgery Wansbeck Hospital / Older people's healthcare

(as the patient),

When Parking Eye, car park management first started operating at Wansbeck General Hospital I had not been informed of it. I had to park in in the disabled bays so that I could attend appointments or receive treatment.

I parked as I had done many times, unaware that that Parking Eye had taken over at the hospital, some days later a parking charge notice was sent to me informing me I had to pay a parking charge of £70.

I contacted the Estates office at Wansbeck and found out that on the day I had parked there Parking Eye were just setting up and didn't have the warning signs erected. I appealed to Parking Eye with these facts and the fine was squashed.

I registered with Parking Eye both by phone to the Estates office and by official form, however I have just received another parking charge notice from Parking Eye for parking at Newcastle General Hospital.

I am very angry that these people are employed by hospitals into making the sick and elderly part with money that many of them can't afford. I have looked at the so-called warning notices and there is no way on earth I can read them. First they are placed very high up and not in line of sight so they could be missed, secondly the writing on them is tiny. I am 67 years of age and diabetic with poor eye site and I would never be able to read these signs anyway. I suspect young people with good sight would have difficulty reading them.

I know parking has to monitored at hospitals and I'm all for it, but this seems to be just a scam to raise money and should be made illegal.

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Responses

Response from Annie Laverty, Chief Experience Officer, Patient Experience, Northumbria Healthcare NHS FT 10 years ago
We have made a change
Annie Laverty
Chief Experience Officer, Patient Experience,
Northumbria Healthcare NHS FT

Submitted on 04/04/2014 at 21:22
Published on Care Opinion on 06/04/2014 at 13:05

picture of Annie Laverty

Dear Rids,

I’d like to thank you very much for sharing your frustrations and bringing this to our attention. I obviously can only comment on the issues that relate to hospitals that are managed by Northumbria Healthcare.

I personally feel very grateful to all the patients and members of the public who have taken the time to raise their concerns about the new parking system.

As a Trust, Northumbria has taken these incidents very seriously indeed. It recently entered into urgent discussions with Parking Eye to find a way of addressing the problems and prevent any recurrence in the future.The outcome of this is that the Trust has reached an agreement which will result in the termination of the management contract with Parking Eye on all Northumbria premises.

I hope this provides you with some assurance of our determination to listen and respond to the needs of our patients and the local people we serve.

With all best wishes,

Annie

  • {{helpful}} {{helpful == 1 ? "person thinks" : "people think"}} this response is helpful

Update posted by Rids (the patient)

Dear Annie,

Thank you for your comments on my parking problem. I have fallen foul twice to Parking Eye, the first time they were just setting up at Wansbeck Hospital and they were only just erecting the warning signs. I was sent a parking charge notice which I appealed against and they let me off.

I registered with Parking Eye both through the Estates Office at Wansbeck and by official form to Parking Eye.

I would never have believed that I would be issued with a second parking charge notice, but once again big brother was watching me when I went to Newcastle General for my diabetic appointment. I have been forced to pay the fine this time as I don't think they believe I have a disabled badge, even though it was prominently displayed with time card, on the day in question.

It is traumatic enough trying to find parking space in most hospitals without being issued with false parking notices.

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