Forum Topic

Ealing hospital exploitation - parking charges £3.50 minimum

I had the misfortune to go to Ealing hospital today for an x-ray, so I got out of my car to go and pay to see that the minimum charge for parking is:"up to 4 hours £3.50"YES - THREE-POUNDS-FIFTY MINIMUM CHARGE...and you have to type in your registration plate number to get a ticket, clearly to stop people from giving their unexpired ticket to someone else.The last 2 times I've been to the hospital was to A&E with my son, but my husband paid, so maybe it has been like this forever and I'm behind the times.Nevertheless, this is absolutely an outrageous and cynical way of generating revenue. Charge for parking, fine, everyone else does, but even if hospitals like the Chelsea & Westminster operate pay for what you use parking, vs. crazy minimum charges.I know the NHS needs to cut costs, just like every other government department, but generating extortionate revenues from the general population, particularly of the sick and elderly is a recurrent theme for hospitals, but it is seriously wrong.This will hit the poorest hardest. Even profit making companies, whose main source of income is parking fees e.g. NCP could not dream of such a pricing strategy as people would vote with their feet (or wheels) and go elsewhere, but oh, I forgot, this is a hospital, and there is no alternative for parking, so it is a captive audience, so yes, why not, let's just maximise the return.This is exploitation by a government body and it so wrong it makes me extremely angry.

Melissa Smith ● 5743d34 Comments

A wholly typical experience and story. You were very lucky not to get caught -  they don't just issue penalty tickets, they clamp! Hospital punters (outpatients, A&E emergencies and visitors) don't need all this extra stress.

Chris Veasey ● 5724d

I was at the Hospital today and as you say the Car Parking is a big stressful headache.  Touring round and round for a space..and when one becomes available there's hardly any room to do a dent-free manoevre!Then the rain hammered down...got to the steps and then remembered that I needed to get a Parking Ticket. Damn got soak, rain dripping off my eyebrowes.  I thought machine said £2.50 for 4 hours.(small text!). I pressed the green button, no ticket came out.. I cursed..then found my £2.50 again in the bottom tray!  I fled,complaining about the machine not working(!) and when I returned one hour later there was no £50 penalty charge thankfully.Bussing from Osterley next time.or perhaps one should park in Wolsey Close. Must contact Graham!

Jim Lawes ● 5724d

I doubt the registration numbers are recorded as such - just printed on the ticket for display in the vehicle of the same number.Since it is obviously easier to read the vehicle registration plate than peer at a poorly printed ticket on the dash no overall change to the privacy situation has taken place.

Tony Colliver ● 5730d

Worse than the collection of car registration numbers was requiring the name and address of the patient when registering to listen to the (free) radio.

Philippa Bond ● 5733d

there are two 30min free parking spaces in the carpark, almost directly infront/under the entrance to A&E. only two so you'd have to be lucky.

Margaret sheehan ● 5735d

Yes, if you're just visiting, you can perfectly well park in Hanwell village for free.

Susan Kelly ● 5736d

It would be interesting to hear from anyone who has followed the money trail. It may be entirely divorced from Ealing PCT or the hospital`s income although most of us would expect the hospitals management to control facilities including the car park.We also need to know more about this "operation" because of the recording of car registrations which in the wrong hands may lead to vulnerable addresses.

Robert Darke ● 5737d

I am prepared to supply any poster who contacts me with the info as to where I park for free when going to EH.

Graham Weeks ● 5737d

It's not only patients that use a hospital car park, its also visitors of said patients.True the cost is a bit extortionate and I believe that some of the money made will go to the hospital and not just to the car parking company.

J Smith ● 5737d

The car parking charges at Ealing hospital are criminal.It is a disgrace that patients have to pay 3.50 and just in case someone would be kind enough to donate unused time,they have the cheek to require car registrations.The parking outfit makes a fortune especially on short visits. .Unbelievably,I often get out after only 15 minutes,so they make double on my trips....on the other hand,a patient could be much longer and may not be able to get back before the time expires.The excuse of people using the space all day has no substance since the only people using the parking are patients...where else would other parkers come from?? It is not an industrial or retail area bringing customers into the parking area.As far as I know the hospital does not  benefit from the charges and the whole situation should be investigated ASAP......

Marie Anne OConnell ● 5737d

The car parking charges at Ealing hospital are criminal.It is a disgrace that patients have to pay 3.50 and just in case someone would be kind enough to donate unused time,they have the cheek to require car registrations.The parking outfit makes a fortune especially on short visits. .Unbelievably,I often get out after only 15 minutes,so they make double on my trips....on the other hand,a patient could be much longer and may not be able to get back before the time expires.The excuse of people using the space all day has no substance since the only people using the parking are patients...where else would other parkers come from?? It is not an industrial or retail area bringing customers into the parking area.As far as I know the hospital does not  benefit from the charges and the whole situation should be investigated ASAP......

Marie Anne OConnell ● 5737d

Now that is comical and just shows what lies the proponents of these schemes tell. Given that there are many roads around Hanwell station with no CPZ then why would anyone park at a hospital that is half a mile or so away. I would love to see who made that statement. also why are people who tell such lies paid so much!!!!

Peter Chadburn ● 5741d

There were some cycle racks at the hospital, but not many.

David Eales ● 5741d

I recollect that the reason for the introduction of charges at Ealing Hospital was because of commuter parking, both for commuters to Hanwell, and those travelling from Hanwell station.Are there cycle racks at the hospital?

Alan Brainsby ● 5741d

They will justify on the basis that it ensures less people get clamped. but in reality it is down to greed and moneymaking!!No amount of spin will ever prove different. If it was an honest car park then a pay on exit scheme would be in operation so that you pay for what you use.

Peter Chadburn ● 5741d

I think this is something that hospitals across the country are doing. At my old local hospital, the car parking charges were high, but if you were say just going for a blood test or a check and were out in about 30 minutes you weren't charged anything. Unfortunately if you were longer than that you were charged (at that time) £2.50 regardless. This has now changed and you are changed a flat rate regardless of how long you stay there. However they do have rebates for people who are visiting chronicly ill patients, although what these may be I do not know.

J Smith ● 5742d

Very interesting debate everyone. It seems that the hospital itself, and its access via public transport is quite a source of debate.I do believe it is perfectly reasonable for people to want to drive and park at a hospital as an alternative to public transport and for the hospital to charge for parking on the basis it is the norm everywhere, and that even £1 an hour would be reasonable, my beef is about the minimum charge of 4 hours at £3.50.If I for example, had an elderly neighbour or relative in that hospital and visited for an hour a day, I'd be spending £24.50 a week for 7 hours parking, whereas a pay as you go at £1 per hour would be only £7.So I think this payment scheme is penalising the frequent / short stay visitors. These visitors are most likely to be the good neighbours or relatives of the elderly or the very young...and I can imagine that paying nearly £25 a week for several weeks as a retired person would do a bit more than sting.

Melissa Smith ● 5742d

This hospital was designed to be approached by car or bus. This is patently obvious when you walk there!  I don't know why this hasn't been adjusted.

Philippa Bond ● 5742d

Re disabled parking, point of correction  -  true there's only a few specific disabled spaces near the main entrance, but Blue Badge Holders park free in the rest of the public parking areas  -  when they can find a space!

Chris Veasey ● 5742d

No it's not the 1950s -  in those days the hospitals were in accessible in-town locations, not at the back of beyond, except for the old fever/isolation hospitals.None of us were asked whether we wanted our main hospital put in the middle of nowhere. But at least parking there WAS free till the mid 1990s  -  I happened to work for the parking contract company that got the first contract, though I had no direct involvement  - and the car park was no more congested and overloaded before then than it is now.There may be 'plenty of buses that pass the hospital' but none of them serve my home area, which is in the middle of South Ealing not the back of beyond. And even of they did itt's still a pretty lousy means of transport for many people, not least the sick and infirm.As for people 'only' visiting patients, they are a vital lifeline and support for patients and can be a major factor in patients' recovery. They are already sacrificing a great deal of time and trouble to make those visits, which are hardly a fun leisure outing.The logical conclusion from your metality is that patients, even emergency ones, should be charged swingeing fares to be brought in by ambulance, visitors should pay tolls to walk along the hospital corridors (why should people think they can just walk where they want for free?  -  it's not the 1950s) and use the lifts, and ultimately the 'free' health service should be replaced by a fully commercial pay-as-you-go one.

Chris Veasey ● 5742d

I have been to Ealing Hospital A&E on 3 occasions with my son in the middle of the night in a mad panic, the last thing I worried about was money to pay for parking. On every occasion I have spoken to someone about it and been let off the fees. Attending the hospital for successive appointments I do think the charges are on the excessive side and have always walked.

Diane Gill ● 5742d

Interesting how you say it would be used by commuters. The hospital workers maybe? but no other commuters would be using it as it is not near anywhere. actually having up to 4 hours may not be a bad thing. the hospital has expanded in demand over the years greatly. perhaps cutting the managers spaces would free up more for the public. disabled parking is also very limited.

Peter Chadburn ● 5742d

There is limited parking at Ealing and no room to expand the car park. What do people want? Free parking would mean that you could NEVER find a space because they would be taken first thing by staff and commuters. There are plenty of buses that pass right in front of the hospital.I have known people who are only visiting patients to complain of having to pay. People seem to think they just have the right to park wherever they want. It's not the 1950s.

Susan Kelly ● 5742d

I've been for a blood test early in the morning when everybody is there long before the nurses are to take blood.  Now these were mostly people who drove in and wanted to have their blood taken quickly and then go on to do a day's work elsewhere. If the clinic had opened earlier (and there'd been more nurses) then a whole load of spaces would have been freed earlier/quicker.I've also been there for other reasons when as has already been pointed out travelling by bus would not have been easy at all.  Cruising around the car park looking for space is stressful.  Just another reason why the notices complaining about patients threatening behaviour need to be up.  It is stressful enough for patients who don't know their way around hospital to go there let alone not be able to find a place to park as their appointment time nears.

Philippa Bond ● 5742d

I've been for a blood test early in the morning when everybody is there long before the nurses are to take blood.  Now these were mostly people who drove in and wanted to have their blood taken quickly and then go on to do a day's work elsewhere. If the clinic had opened earlier (and there'd been more nurses) then a whole load of spaces would have been freed earlier/quicker.I've also been there for other reasons when as has already been pointed out travelling by bus would not have been easy at all.  Cruising around the car park looking for space is stressful.  Just another reason why the notices complaining about patients threatening behaviour need to be up.  It is stressful enough for patients who don't know their way around hospital to go there let alone not be able to find a place to park as their appointment time nears.

Philippa Bond ● 5742d

That is the key point. When my girlfriend was alive our Hospital trips to the Brompton were always by car and in the Chelsea area parking was a lot more pricey!! despite living next to Hanwell station. Public Transport was not an option as the stairs were hard work for her. Most others going for outpatient or coming into hospital were taken by family and friends. If they came by Train to London then a Taxi was the main option to the Hospital. If she had to go to Ealing I would have to drop her at the door and go and park elsewhere. At £3.50 the charge is not so bad compared with some places. But in reality for the size of the hospital more provision is required for parking.

Peter Chadburn ● 5742d

I would never go to ealing hospital. It's fithy and god knows what you would go home with. A friend of mine some years ago was diagnosed with flu and sent home. She died a few hours later from meningitis. even if the parking was free i would opt for a different hospital.

Emma Daniels ● 5743d

Many patients get driven to the hospital by family or friends  -  I've spent a fair proportion of my life doing just that for family, friends and neighbours  -  as the only realistic way of getting there, short of paying through the nose for a taxi. And many of those drivers have to park and accompany the patient to their medical appointment rather than just dropping off.A cynic, or even a non-cynic, might far more reasonably say that anyone fit to endure the severe rigours of bus travel -  walking to the stop, standing there for an indeterminate time (many stops have no seating or shelter, and few of those that do have adequate seating or shelter) waiting for the bus, sitting in cramped and inadequate seating in the bus or standing if it's crowded while being thrown about, in many cases having to get off en route and walk to another stop for another bus and stand there waiting, etc etc etc ad nauseitum  -  is the one really 'not in need of hospital services'  -  though they may well be by the end of their journey if they weren't at the start.

Chris Veasey ● 5743d

"Only the 282, 92 and 83 actually go to the hospital." True. however if one has travel pass, eg freedom, period, then it's possible to change from a route which passes the hospital to a route that enters it for no cost.A cynic might suggest that anyone who is able to drive to a hospital is not in need of hospital services and so parking is provided for a patient's chauffeur or visitors.

Alan Brainsby ● 5743d

Only the 282, 92 and 83 actually go to the hospital. The others all stop on the uxbridge road. So the web site is missleading. So it is not a flat walk from the uxbridge road. the difficulty is that people who have to come back for outpatient appointments tend not to be very mobile and so getting a lift from friends or family is the only viable option for many of them.

Peter Chadburn ● 5743d

I would say there are quite a few buses, 83, 92, 195, 207, 282, 427, 607 from the website. There are steps but I recall a ramp too, or in fact if you arrive by bus it's a flat walk from the stop to the main entrance. It's a compromise: centralise services like hospitals around a central hub, or lots of smaller local services.

David Eales ● 5743d

The staff would use it if it did not charge and then no one could park. The cheap excuse they always give is that commuters use it to park all day. Crap as there is no residents parking in the nearby area. The difficulty is knowing how long you are waiting to be seen. Also the Car Park is down steps so for those who are not fit (describes most hospital visitors) then that is a pain. The minimum charge for the 4 hours however probably prevents many people getting tickets/clamps they would have otherwise got. Only a few buses go into the Hospital so otherwise people have to struggle from the bus stops.

Peter Chadburn ● 5743d

Ouch that is excessive, but hospitals often have people parking there all day.  I've only been there once (that was an experience in itself) but was a good boy and went on the bus.

G Lord ● 5743d

I am not sure the NHS actually runs the car park, given they are in the health care sector I doubt it has much to do with them.

David Eales ● 5743d