Coventry hospital angers visitors over car park charges
24/02/2010
Hospital visitors using the car park at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire are holding protests over high parking charges.
Angry visitors are holding a meeting in Coventry to discuss their protest over charges that range from £3 per hour to £10 per 24-hour period.
Although the hospital denies that it is responsible for setting the changes, and says it does not profit from the charges, visitors are still angry.
The protestors have gathered signatures on a petition claiming that the charges are among the highest in the area. One visitor, Sylvia May said she was forced to limit visits to see her sick husband in hospital as the charges were simply too high.
The hospital said the car park is run by a private company and that it would cost the hospital £2.4 million to cancel the deal. However, May argued, “It's just going to a private company, there's no excuse. They are making money out of other people's grief."
A spokesperson for the Primary Care Trust in the area said, “we understand how important it is for people to park on site while they are receiving treatment or visiting a patient. [But] to scrap car parking charges while the contract is in place would cost the trust £2.4 million each year from its healthcare budgets which to put into context is like closing two to three wards. That would inevitably mean cuts in services to the people who use the hospital every day."
Angry visitors are holding a meeting in Coventry to discuss their protest over charges that range from £3 per hour to £10 per 24-hour period.
Although the hospital denies that it is responsible for setting the changes, and says it does not profit from the charges, visitors are still angry.
The protestors have gathered signatures on a petition claiming that the charges are among the highest in the area. One visitor, Sylvia May said she was forced to limit visits to see her sick husband in hospital as the charges were simply too high.
The hospital said the car park is run by a private company and that it would cost the hospital £2.4 million to cancel the deal. However, May argued, “It's just going to a private company, there's no excuse. They are making money out of other people's grief."
A spokesperson for the Primary Care Trust in the area said, “we understand how important it is for people to park on site while they are receiving treatment or visiting a patient. [But] to scrap car parking charges while the contract is in place would cost the trust £2.4 million each year from its healthcare budgets which to put into context is like closing two to three wards. That would inevitably mean cuts in services to the people who use the hospital every day."
RSS