Cancer patients' stress over hospital parking bills

A man in his 60s with short white hair, looking towards the camera. He is wearing a light blue check shirt. He is sitting in a beige chair in his conservatory, with a view of his garden behind him. There are lots of plants and flowers on show in the garden.

Patrick Naughton received a parking bill after an appointment for his cancer treatment

Suzy Lawson

Cancer patients receiving hospital treatment in East Yorkshire say fighting to get their parking charges cancelled makes their experience even more stressful.

Patrick Naughton, 66, has been having radiotherapy at Castle Hill Hospital in Cottingham, near Hull, for his prostate cancer.

He said he received a parking charge notice (PCN) while attending an appointment at the Queen's Centre for Oncology and Haematology last month, despite being eligible for free parking. It has now been waived.

Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and APCOA said the parking system had been operating successfully for a number of years, and added: "We are sorry to hear that these patients have experienced difficulties."

Mr Naughton said: "My consultant had advised me to avoid stress, but I found the entire experience of dealing with the car park company extremely stressful."

A parking sign. There are two boards, one above the other. The top board says that parking is free of charge for Queen's Centre Patients, with details about entering your car registration on a tablet in the centre reception. The board below warns that ANPR is in use, with terms and conditions of parking. It warns that a breach of the conditions could lead to a charge of £30 if paid within 14 days, rising to £60 if paid later than that.

Parking is free for patients having cancer treatment

He said he was told by hospital staff to enter his registration number at the oncology department to receive free parking, but received a ticket 10 days later.

"Having radiotherapy is difficult enough. You don't want to be having the harassment of facing parking [charges] and fighting a battle with a car parking company," he said.

Other patients have reported the same issue.

Joyce Quibell has been having treatment for stage two multiple myeloma at Castle Hill for two years.

She said she received a PCN after attending an appointment on 30 April, despite believing she had entered her car registration details correctly.

That invoice has also been waived by APCOA, but Mrs Quibell said she had to provide evidence including her appointment letter and driving licence.

"I was disgusted that they can do that to patients," she said.

"It's taken nearly two months for them to make a decision and drop the [charge]."

A woman in her 60s with short blonde hair. She is wearing black framed glasses and a beige coloured turtle neck jumper. She's sitting on her sofa with a patterned throw and cushion behind her. She's looking at the camera with a serious look on her face.

Joyce Quibell has regular appointments at the Queen's Centre

The hospital trust said it wasn't aware of any issues with the parking system, and said its staff were happy to help patients register their cars' details.

The trust encouraged people who believed they had been issued PCNs incorrectly to contact APCOA.

"It's important to us that we support cancer patients through this difficult and distressing time – which is one of the reasons they are entitled to free parking when coming to our hospitals for treatment," it said.

"Demand for parking on our sites is significant, and we ensure that our patients and visitors have fair and equitable access to the spaces available.

"Like many large public car parks, this is managed through automatic number plate recognition."

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