[OT] Hospitals

Pay and display, as opposed to ticket on entry and pay before exit, is just plain unfair. Of my last five hospital visits, all for much the same thing, two have taken under 5 minutes, 1 40 minutes and 2 nearly 2 hours each. And you can't pop out every half hour, say, because if the nurse calls you and you're not there, you miss your turn and go to the back of the queue! Our local hospital is good for parking: free for 30 minutes and capped to something like =A32.80 per four hours (or per day?). In-patients, iirc, get their tickets validated. This structure would not be suitable for areas where the parking could be used for shopping, other businesses, etc, but our hospital is the only building for a mile or two around.

Some hospitals in the local area are near motorway junctions, so people used to use the car park and take one car to work. Almost a car sharing scheme. The problem is that it stops others getting a space. The hospital should have a ticket system were they are issued in order to obtain free parking in the circumstances you explain. People are out to make money any way they can, they know people need to use hospitals so it's a guaranteed income.

Trouble is if it's an inner city hospital the value of the grounds used for the car park is enormous. And it's very unlikely they can provide parking for all who may need it - including staff as well as patients. So as ever, the only way to control it is through cost. But most are well served by PT, and of course the seriously ill or infirm will get transport provided. Visitors will just have to make the best of a bad job.

St James' isn't pay and display (yet). And if they make it Pay and Display, I plan to be mad.