Park hospital charges now

I had to pay a visit to the hospital this week and when it came to parking, I was faced with a ticket machine that only took cash – with not a hand sanitiser in sight.

We are constantly told to be careful about touching surfaces and to wash our hands but here I was, in a hospital car park, being urged to touch a machine and handle cash.

I no longer carry cash because I don’t want to handle physical notes and coins which are known to harbour bacteria and microbes. I do everything via contactless.

In a bad mood, I asked the hospital receptionist where the cash machine was – of course it was out of order. I’ll spare you the expletives.

Parking at hospitals has been a bone of contention for many years. Patients and NHS staff are exasperated by these private firms not being held accountable for their poor-quality service.

If the Government can make rules at the drop of a hat, then why can’t one be made for contactless parking? Or better still, free parking for all.