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Parking Exemption

Story from nhs.uk

"Parking Exemption"

About: Hexham General Hospital

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I was in Hexham General A & E on the night of 27 August 2012 accompanying my 88-year-old mother who had had a fall. The staff and service were excellent in all respects. I stayed about 90 minutes longer in the car park than I'd paid for on entry, I intended to pay the excess on the way out as the notice on the payment machine said I could. But the nurse who helped my mother to my car said she would do an exemption for me and wrote my car reg on the back of her hand. A week later I got a parking charge notice and fine of £70 (£40 if paid within 14 days). Either the nurse forgot to do the exemption or else there's no such thing as an exemption. If the latter, could you advise your staff not to offer exemptions? I'd much rather have paid the excess on leaving as I intended to do! Hexham General is the best hospital I've ever been to. Best wishes Sarah Cuthbertson Corbridge

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Responses

Response from Hexham General Hospital 10 years ago
Hexham General Hospital

Submitted on 09/09/2013 at 08:39
Published on nhs.uk on 10/09/2013 at 04:00

Dear Sarah Firstly, thank you so much for your very kind feedback about our A&E service and for your ringing endorsement of Hexham General Hospital. Falls can be so frightening for all concerned so I am delighted that your Mother received all the help she needed. I do hope she is recovering well. Your account of the excellent care provided by staff will mean a great deal to the whole team and I will ensure that this note of thanks is shared with them. I was very sorry to hear about your parking experience and your subsequent frustration on receiving a fine . I do understand that the member of staff had offered to take a note of your number and can confirm that she was in a position to provide you with this discretionary exemption. I am sorry that we didn’t act on this immediately to avoid a fine being issued by Parking Eye. I am sure, however, that we can help you with this matter and would be grateful if you would email Jo, a senior member of my team, at Joanne.mackintosh@northumbria-healthcare.nhs.uk. Jo will take the details she needs to hopefully achieve a quick resolution for you. I hope that this information is helpful – please let me know if you have any further concerns . Best Wishes Annie Laverty – Director of Patient Experience

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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 22:19
Published on Care Opinion on 07/04/2014 at 09:19

picture of Annie Laverty

Just to update you that the outcome of this. The Trust has made an important change and 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.

Thank you for bringing your concerns to our attention.

With all best wishes,

Annie

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