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Parking invoice at woodview road car park

Story from nhs.uk

"Parking invoice at woodview road car park"

About: Croydon Health Services NHS Trust

I am disabled and have to attend mayday hospital on a regular basis . I have a mobility vehicle I park ether in London Road car park or woodview road car park in a disabled bay or a non-disabled bay. I haven't had any problems with this for years. I have a small mobility scooter that folds away and a hoist that lifts it into my car. this scooter is not a road going scooter.

My problem is I parked in woodview road car park, in a non- disabled bay, there are only two disabled bays outside the main entrance and are always taken , i placed my blue badge on the dash board got out and lowered my scooter to the floor off i went to my appointment .when I returned to the car i found a parking invoice on my car. I looked around but could not see any signs saying I had to pay as it has always been free. Anyway i paid the invoice and appealed it, the appeal was denied by Mayday hospital trust. So what i have decided to do is use hospital transport in future,

I really don't want to do this but I have no choice, i cannot afford these parking charges, i don't know how long I'm going to be some of the appointments can drag on for three hours. I have checked for signs there's one on the ticket machine and a small one on a pay and display sign, also this new parking restrictions came into force on 1 st April, my offence occurred on 24th of April,

I think this is very unfair I am not disabled by choice it appears disabled are fair game for everyone

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Responses

Response from Sarah Pritchard, Senior Quality Lead, Croydon Health Services NHS Trust 5 years ago
Sarah Pritchard
Senior Quality Lead,
Croydon Health Services NHS Trust

Submitted on 25/10/2018 at 15:45
Published on Care Opinion on 26/10/2018 at 16:05

Like many NHS trusts, demand for parking can exceed the number of car spaces available – especially at peak times.

We do not charge Blue Badge holders who park in the reserved disabled bays at our hospitals. Hourly charges do apply if Blue Badge holders park in other car spaces on site. This is not unique to Croydon, and similar charges apply at more than 130 hospitals across the country.

We have increased our disabled parking bays from 15 to 32 and concessions remain in place for patients, including those with long-term conditions, who require regular hospital visits. The Disabled Parking Accreditation suggest that for the number of spaces we have available, we should offer four bays plus 3% of the total car park which equals 10 spaces.

The Croydon Hospital grounds are private and therefore our parking is managed on the laws of contract and trespass. As such, the Blue Badge Scheme does not apply. This is detailed in a booklet issued to Blue Badge holders by the Department of Transport entitled, ‘The Blue Badge Scheme: rights and responsibilities in England.”

Under the Equality Act 2010, the requirements made of land owners, including Croydon Health Services is to ensure there are an appropriate number of spaces that are in a sensible proximity to the building and that their use is policed in some way.

Our parking is ‘policed’ by Empark (NCP). They are paid an annual management fee and are not responsible for setting parking charges.

Croydon Health Services holds the Disabled Parking Accreditation (DPA). Managed by the British Parking Association, the DPA asks organisations to 'demonstrate to their customers that they are committed to creating high quality parking facilities for disabled people.’

I hope the above actions show our commitment to ensuring we maintain our accreditation award and make our parking fair and safe for all.

Kind Regards

Sarah Pritchard, Patient Experience Manager

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