According to a recent Freedom of Information request by online parking place sourcing company YourParkingSpace.co.uk, £13.3 million was charged to hospital visitors in parking fines during 2015/2016.
It was based on an analysis of 136 NHS trust responses showing that 159,000 tickets were issued. Penalty Charge Notice fines ranged in price from £10 to £100, and in another postcode lottery, whilst some Trusts were quick to hand out fines, there were others who didn’t issue any parking fines what-so-ever.
Managing Director of YourParkingSpace.co.uk, Harrison Woods, commented, “It isn’t right that visitors who are often attending hospital for treatment or to visit sick relatives are being hit with fines of up to £100. It’s added worry at a time that is often already very stressful for patients and their families.”
One in ten penalty charges were appealed, of which two thirds were successfully overturned. “The research,” acknowledged Woods, “shows that if you feel that you have been unfairly ticketed while parking at a hospital it can pay to appeal.” Again though, the chances of successfully appealing a ticket varied widely across the country.
Among the trusts that overturned all the Penalty Charge Notice appeals they received included The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust, University of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust and Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust.
With the survey revealing the time and expense that is being wasted on managing the issuing and the cancelling of penalty charges in hospitals, it can be seen why some Trusts are doing away with parking charges completely.
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