This parking's driving us mad! (From Bournemouth Echo)

This parking's driving us mad!

8:00am Thursday 11th March 2010 in

• Skip social links
• Print
• Email
• Comments(1)

I CAN think of better places to spend my time than hospitals.

Like a great many people, they’re also places I don’t really want to spend my money, but I appreciate that car parking can be an important revenue stream for the NHS.

But those same people will also argue, quite rightly, that visiting a hospital can be a stressful enough experience at the best of times without having to face hefty parking charges and difficulties finding spaces.

Great hospitals though they may be, Bournemouth and Poole score fairly high on the stressometer, whether it’s finding a space at the busiest times or having to make the trip regularly to visit long-term patients.

Consumer watchdog Which? surely won’t have been surprised at the findings of their survey into the stress caused by hospital parking, but their solution won’t wash too well with NHS bosses.

The watchdog is calling for a “cost-covering” approach for NHS car parks to prevent the hospital either making a profit or having to use its budget to fund parking.

It also wants a priority parking system, greater control over penalties like clamping fines and concessions for groups such as regular outpatients.

But with things being very tight in the health service at present, I’m sure bosses will argue that paying Peter to pay Paul would hit services.