Kentish Express Ashford & District
Parking fines for cancer patients
Apology as wardens target cars outside chemo bus
A health trust has apologised after cancer patients at the William Harvey Hospital were targeted by parking wardens during their chemotherapy treatment. One patient said he was shocked to see two parking attendants outside the mobile chemotherapy bus ‘systematically’ slapping drivers with fines.
Dad-of-two Austin Sloan, 39, said: “I couldn’t believe it, I just stood there aghast with my mouth open. One elderly gentleman even had to be disconnected from his chemo drip to find other parking spaces.”
He claims that one attendant told him after he complained: “I’ve had cancer too, so don’t lay that one on me.”
A spokesman for the East Kent Hospitals Trust, which runs the William Harvey Hospital, this week apologised, saying: “We recognise that tickets should be issued in an appropriate manner and we will be discussing this with our parking wardens.”
Cancer patients receiving treatment in the William Harvey Hospital car park were targeted by ticket wardens as they received their chemotherapy.
One outraged patient, Austin Sloan, said he was shocked to see two parking attendants outside the mobile chemotherapy bus “systematically” slapping drivers with fines.
Mr Sloan, 39, a business director, has been receiving treatment for bowel cancer from the bus since the Celia Blakey Centre closed last year.
He said: “All the patients had disabled tickets and, although parked in the staff car park where the mobile unit is, there was half of the car park empty.
“I did tell the attendant that the occupants were on the bus receiving treatment, and her words were ‘all vehicles got to go, I’ve had cancer too, so don’t lay that one on me’.”
“I couldn’t believe it, I just stood there aghast, with my mouth open.”
He added: “One elderly gentleman even had to be disconnected from his chemo drip to find another space.
“He had severe respiratory issues and was told to park in other disabled spaces. When he told her there were no spaces, she simply replied ‘I don’t care’.”
Mr Sloan, a dad of two who has gone through 18 months’ chemo, said it was hard for cancer patients to walk the long distance to the mobile unit.
He added: “Your treatment really takes it out of you.
“The disabled spaces are at the other end of the car park so you have to traipse back to your car.
“I, along with the chemotherapy unit staff, can’t understand why there are not a few spaces in that car park for the patients receiving treatment.
“The car park is mostly empty, and the unit only has a few seats so a few parking spaces is all that is needed.
“Following the closure of the Celia Blakey Unit due to staff shortages us cancer patients have been travelling to Canterbury for all our treatment, so the bus is very important in reducing travelling for treatment.
“But to receive parking tickets due to purely bad logistics is not on.
“The attitude of the parking attendants also needs to be addressed.”
‘One man even had to be disconnected from his chemo drip to find another space’
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