NURSE HIT WITH PARKING FINES... AT HOSPITAL
DEMAND FOR £350 DESPITE PAYING FEE
A NURSE at Manchester Royal Infirmary received parking fines worth £350 – despite having a monthly parking fee taken from her wages.
Nicola McGarr, a ward sister in the Acute Medical Unit, was slapped with fines by private company Parking Eye during five shifts at the hospital.
She was shocked to receive the penalty notices for dates ranging from August 6 to 13 because, every month, £32.70 is taken from her pay to fund parking.
Nicola says she was away during the week her staff permit was to due for its annual renewal, but emailed her line manager at the hospital on her first day back on August 3.
Despite this, and writing a letter to Parking Eye demanding they repeal the first penalty notices she received, she continued to receive fines.
When the M.E.N. contacted Parking Eye, they blamed a delay in permit renewal by Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, insisted they had not received an appeal but agreed to cancel all the fines. The hospital trust, meanwhile, has apologised and vowed to ‘review policy.’
But Nicola, from Droylsden, says getting the unwanted mail has been stressful – and she claims other staff have become so annoyed with the firm they are now getting lifts to work.
A spokeswoman from Parking Eye said they had not received an appeal for the case.
They said the motorist had received multiple penalty notices because she had not renewed her permit and there had been a 15-day gap until it was reinstated by the trust.
A Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust spokeswoman said: “We apologise for any distress caused to the member of staff for the erroneous issue of multiple PCNs.
“We will review our policy to limit the number of PCNs that are issued to staff within a particular time period.”