Dad hit with £70 fine in ‘free’ NHS car park while he underwent five-hour emergency operation
Scott Newborough was rushed into emergency surgery for an abscess on his neck and received the fine days later
A DAD undergoing a five-hour emergency operation was hit with a £70 fine at a "free parking" NHS hospital.
Scott Newborough, 30, pulled up in the free parking multi-storey when he went to get an abscess on his neck checked out after it “swelled up like a golf ball”.
And he was then sent for emergency surgery to remove the abscess under local anaesthetic.
But he was shocked to be sent a fine in the post days later after being discharged from the giant University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff.
Patients and visitors to the hospital are able to park on site free of charge for four hours - but have to re-register their vehicle at a terminal if they need to stay for an additional four hours.
Scott - who believes the abscess was caused by an insect bite - is fuming at the charge.
But dad-of-one Scott said the parking system, introduced by private firm Parking Eye in June 2018, needed to be reviewed to stop patients getting caught out.
He said: “Most people spend longer than expected in hospital.
"The staff can’t really put a time frame on how long it will take them to see you so there’s no way they can say whether it will be within the four-hour limit.
“They just say they will see you as soon as possible but they are stretched as it is.”
Scott, who spent five hours at the hospital in total, was given a £70 parking charge notice (PCN) by Parking Eye just before Christmas. This will be reduced to £40 if it is paid within a month.
“Some people may not have £40 just before Christmas,” said Scott, of Tremorfa, Cardiff.
“I just felt like I was paying for their Christmas night out.”
Cardiff and Vale University Health Board said it was unable to intervene in any parking charge notices.
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A spokesman said: “Parking is run by Parking Eye and any tickets issued for parking violations will need to go through the company’s appeals process.”
Scott said he was in the process of contacting Parking Eye to see if he can get the fine overturned.
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