£570 parking fees to visit heart hubby in hospital
NHS snubs wife’s pleas over charges
A HEART attack victim’s wife was forced to pay £570 hospital parking charges as her husband spent 75 days on a ward fighting for life.
Devastated Carol Watts, 55, was refused a concession because Malcolm 75, who collapsed at home, was not considered an “extended stay” patient.
Now the furious mumof-one is fighting to get a full refund after spending two months at his bedside for up to eight hours a day. “We begged for help on the charges but got nothing,” said Carol.
“Malcolm had a triple bypass and suffered sepsis and wound and bone infections. I needed to be with him.” Parking at Univers i ty Hos p i t al Coventry, levied by private firm ISS, soars to £9.20 for more than seven hours. Government “principles” for NHS car park charges and penalties – totalling more than £226m last year – state relatives of the gravely ill or those on long admissions should be granted concessions.
Many hospitals follow this advice. Carol, of Sutton Cold- Oh boy, what a result. After a 105-year wait, a family has finally welcomed a baby girl.
Piper’s birth marked the first female born in the Scott family since her great-great aunt Marie in 1903.
Thrilled parents Elliott and Rebekah, 26, who also have two sons, say she is “a little miracle”.
Elliott, 45, said: “We’d accepted us Scotts could only have boys. We joked about it but it was a bit sad, really.
“After the scan showed a girl there were tears of joy. But until she was actually born I didn’t believe it.
“It’s all just lovely as the whole family has waited decades for this. My wife is just happy to have some backup as even our dog and cat are male.”
Proud big brothers Harley, eight, and Austin, five, are also madly in love with their sweet little sis – who got a mountain of shoes for Christmas.
Dad Elliott, from Bexleyheath, South East London, added: “Her brothers, cousins and uncles are already very protective. Any future boyfriends better watch out.” field, said: “It’s disgraceful to take advantage of relatives visiting the sick.”
The Mirror is running a campaign to end this parking rip-off.
University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust said cancer and dialysis patients, and parents of sick children staying overnight get free parking.
“Unfortunately any further subsidies would take money from budgets meant for patient care,” said the spokeswoman.
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