Outrage over parking at West Berkshire Community Hospital

Changes supposed to simplify parking at West Berkshire Community Hospital (WBCH) have been criticised by angry patients.

And hospital staff have come under fire since the changes were made earlier this year.

Patients and visitors, many elderly or disabled, claim the recent parking changes – which involve visitors paying via an app or on exit, rather than the previous pay and display system – are unclear and have added undue stress to their visit.

According to a WBCH spokesperson, a sign informing patients of the new parking system was first installed in the car park on Monday, June 27, with further signs going up in July.

But Fiona Bennett, 60, from Woolton Hill, said her mother had been left "very upset" after receiving a fine due to changes to the way the disabled bays can be used too – registration numbers must now be left at reception.

"My mum took my dad, who suffers from Alzheimer's, to an eye appointment on Wednesday, September 21, at 2.30pm," she said. "She put his blue badge on the windscreen, and they entered the building.

"She was very distressed to receive a letter with photos of her car and the demand for a £100 fine. She was naturally very upset and paid the lower rate of £60 just to make the problem go away.

"This is an appalling way to treat elderly, disabled and vulnerable patients and the hospital needs to address these issues."

Another regular patient said: "Unfortunately, details of the new parking system were not effectively relayed to patients, some of whom have been issued with parking tickets by the hospital's parking contractor.

"The stress of trying to deal with Total Car Parks, a company that has harassed me with demands for money and ignored my appeal, could have been avoided had the health authority extended the basic courtesy of communicating with patients with appointment letters, including details of all you need to know when visiting the hospital.

"Other health authorities provide such information to assist patients and avoid problems such as those at WBCH."

While the hospital is not responsible for the car park, some have said its duty of care towards its staff and patients should exceed the boundaries of the hospital itself.

Hospital management met with Total Car Parks at the beginning of October to discuss a resolution.

A statement from WBCH said: "In July this year, we introduced an upgraded parking system which uses ANPR [Automatic Number Plate Recognition] and involves visitors paying on exit rather than the previous pay and display system.

"Visitors can pay either via an app on their phone or simply pay on exit using the ticket machine which takes both cash and card.

"The new system was brought in to make it easier for our patients and visitors by ensuring they only paid for the time they used.

"The new system also requires those using disabled parking to bring their blue badges to reception and enter their car registration on arrival.

"We communicated these changes in advance through a number of different channels including advertisements in local newspapers, on our website, social media and leaflets and posters around the hospital.

"There was also signage in the car park informing visitors that a new system would soon be coming into operation.

"In response to feedback we have received since the new system has been introduced, we have made some changes to our car park signage to ensure our visitors understand how they can pay for their parking, and we will be adding additional signage at the car park entrance, the hospital entrance and disabled parking area to make this clear to everyone visiting the hospital.

"We will also be updating our patient appointment letters to include more information about the parking system and have liaised with our stakeholders who also offer services at the hospital to ensure information about the new parking system is communicated to all those visiting the site.

"We apologise for any confusion or inconvenience caused by introducing the new parking system.

"We would like to reassure our patients and visitors that we have listened to their feedback and have taken their comments on board, and we are confident that the changes we have made will address the concerns they have raised."

The new system replaced the previous pay and display system, with the installation of ANPR technology to read vehicle registrations on entering the car park.

Patients then pay at payment machines opposite the hospital reception when leaving and have 15 minutes to exit.

Paper permit holders are required to switch to a digital permit by talking to reception staff.

Total Car Parks, a private limited company registered in Colchester since 2007, has managed the car park since winning its first NHS contract with WBCH in 2015.

Total Car Parks is an approved member of the British Parking Association, which confirmed it has not received any complaints or opened any investigations against the parking provider.

A BPA spokesperson said: "We encourage all drivers to read signs carefully to ensure they comply with the terms and conditions, which are determined by the landowner and managed by the parking operator.

"We also recommend that the landowner works with the parking operator to communicate any changes to parking rules and to increase signage where possible."

Total Car Parks was approached for comment.