"Parking for Patients my family & myself at NUH"

Parking observations over six month & affecting my family & myself.

One of the main issues & concerns on the agenda of our Patients & carers is Parking.

I would like to share some of those issues & concerns in order to hopefully fill the gaps where our Trust is failing those above.

Firstly, a Patient & or carer visit our Trust for many reasons & parking is not acceptable to be an added stress to those that are ill or visiting family that are ill & this can also affect a seriously ill Patient.

The Trust should now move forward & seriously look at bettering parking across all of our sites for the future & show we do indeed care for our Patients & carers & visitors.

Across our Trust we state ( WE ARE HERE FOR YOU ) but sadly i dont understand how this is so with Parking when the service can be immensely improved in many ways & with the funds that are being acquired for parking.

I write below issues of concern & possible fixes.

Patients meaning carers & visitors also. ( below )

Negative issues.

1, Patients having to guess their parking times & paying over the odds.

2, Patients having to find coins at some point before there visit to our Trust,

3, Patients having to run out of clinics & wards to top up there parking time because of Hospital over runs.

4, Adding Stress on Patients that are already poorly & ill.

5, It is not the Patients fault when a Dr or Consultant etc is running a hour, hour & half late plus at a clinic or other service & a barrier system would cure this.

If i go to buy an item from my local shop i know what price i am to pay, i dont have to guess the price.

Issues we may possibly be able to fix & make better.

1, have barriers where ever possible, exactly as our Treatment centre is run and Patients pay the correct amount for there time, this guessing game is not acceptable & is unfair & the Trust is gaining unacceptable payments, we must find a fairer system for all.

2, Machines need to be upgraded to take all notes ( £5 £10 £20 )

3, Pay machines require to be well accessible and many in Numbers Especially for the Disabled & wheelchair uses in order for the alone wheelchair user not to have to travel a long distance to there department of care & treatment etc

4, Security staff need to be vigilant but at the same time caring & understanding after all this is a hospital not an Airport.

I now come on to a more serious issue that i would like the Trust to think seriously about & this is affecting myself as i write. and i will come to the parking issue at the end so please bear with me.

A family member of mine has her partner on one of our wards with Cancer, he was admitted four weeks ago & is seriously ill & fighting for his life And our staff have been absolutely wonderful in every way. we were told this week he will be in over xmas therefore we are taking Christmas to him and going to add xmas decorations to his room. they have several children, 2 - 11 no income coming in as he worked self employed , no PIP payment been awarded as yet & yes xmas coming up, what sort of Christmas are this family entering in to, the worst of there lives thats for sure. his partner is visiting morning & late at night when she is satisfied the children are safe & in good hands.

Now this is the factor you will not wish to hear if you have a heart, this week she got a parking ticket while she was still visiting late at night, & on returning home she rang me sobbing & worried regards receiving the ticket, how to pay the fine & where to find the funds to the fine, how sad this should happen to this lonely loving human being with all the other issues resting on her shoulders.

For the last four weeks since her partners admittance she has remembered the parking fare day & night but on this occasion she ran out of coins but her priority was to see her partner in case of the worse scenario. This week we were asked to take the children out of school & transfer them to the ward asap as daddy was very ill but happily he got through this with his strength.

That all said i would like to propose that all cancer Patients at end of life care or are very ill & while on a ward, immediate family are issued with a special parking pass in what ever colour or words. This can be issued by a band 5 plus member of staff but initially given the approval by Sister, Matron, or Divisional nurse of that ward & returned if & when necessary & agreed on both sides.

& last but not least i would like to share that since we have taken over the Treatment centre more Patients that are attending the QMC are in fact using the Treatment Centre car park. i have myself been a very frequent patient since the opening of Treatment centre & under three consultants there & i have seen & watched patients walking over to QMC from the TC car park, this has not been helped by taking the security staff member off the access barrier; of which the security member i spoke with this week on my appointment there confirmed my findings & concerns.

Thank you for time & my apologies for a long letter.

Respectfully Yours,