From the deputy editor: Parking charge a tough choice
It's a decision that I am sure nobody had the appetite to make.
Who in their heart of hearts wants to charge ill people or distressed or supporting relatives or friends for parking outside a hospital?
And with our medical staff, such a precious resource, why should they pay even more to get into work?
But with the Royal Preston Hospital at a vehicle congestion breaking point which has spilled into all the areas surrounding, something had to be done.
But was it this?
On paper, this is an attempt to make an unfair system fairer and to make sure that the selection of certain types of patients for free parking across the Trust isn’t ‘discriminatory’ to others. A flat rate sorts that out.
But it will be hard to stomach for those attending regularly with chronic and sometimes life-limiting conditions – not to mention expensive.
And it is very unlikely staff will be happy if they are forced to park in an off-site space.
These moves are very controversial indeed, if a genuine attempt to sort things out.