Grieving mum clamped at GRH
A GRIEVING mum who lost one of her twin babies, suffered more upset when her car was clamped at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital.
Kate Potter, 22, was left cradling surviving twin Max as she waited four hours for the contraption to be removed.
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Kate Potter had her car clamped at Gloucester Royal hospital
Medical staff, including a doctor, pleaded with parking attendants to take the clamp off, but they refused.
Max and his twin Ethan were born prematurely at 26 weeks in June. They each weighed less than 2lbs.
Ethan died three weeks later, but Max battled for survival and only left hospital for the first time last Sunday.
Now weighing 6lbs 11ozs the tiny baby needs constant care and oxygen equipment everywhere he goes.
Kate was visiting the hospital for Max's 9am eye appointment last Wednesday when her clamping ordeal began.
Kate was forced to park her Ford Focus in a disabled bay at the Great Western Road hospital as allocated antenatal spaces were full.
To her relief she managed to find a space in the disabled bay on the advice of hospital staff.
But when Kate returned with Max from his appointment, an hour later, her vehicle had been clamped – and she was faced with a £70 release fee.
Kate's husband Jason, 27, said: "She had to feed and change Max as she waited for the clamp to be removed
"Max is on oxygen too and there is a lot to carry around.
"A doctor spoke with the parking attendant, and requested removal of the clamp and the attendant refused."
Four hours later the clamp was finally taken off after Jason managed to get through to a hospital official who approved the clamp's removal.
An exhausted Kate eventually got back to their Eastern Avenue home at 2.30pm.
But the incident has left Kate and Jason furious.
"I can understand the clamping firm's viewpoint, fair enough," said Jason. "They are just doing their job. But why did it take so long to get the clamp taken off?
"They just had no sense of compassion, they could see Kate had the baby and was suffering."
He added: "What's really needed is better parking for parents like us."
Graham Marsh, Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust's director of property and medical engineering said that in the circumstances the clamping fine was waived.
He said: "If you park in a disabled space and you are not entitled to do so, your car will be clamped which ordinarily will cost you a £70 release fee.
"This procedure has been implemented because of the large number of people using disabled spaces when they are not entitled.
"On this occasion, trust management agreed to waive the release fee and recall the clamping firm.
"Clamping is carried out by an external company employed by the trust and therefore it may take time to release cars when clamped".
James Booth, director of The Wheel Clamping Company in Blackpool, said: "We do take instructions from the hospital and cannot take off a clamp without their say-so."
46 Comments
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by Dominic, London
Tuesday, September 23 2008, 1:10PM
“I've never been able to understand the logic behind clamping cars. The car is parked where it's not supposed to be, so it gets clamped so you cannot move it! In this case the disabled space was out of action for an additional 4 hours. It's beyond justification under any circumstances.”
by Helen, Cheltenham
Monday, September 22 2008, 4:55PM
“Nice one, Vik! I was just trying to come up with a similar idea, and you seem to have hit the nail on the head. My mother-in-law spent a month in hospital last year, and one of the most stressful parts of the experience was going to the hospital, not knowing if I was going to find a space or not, and on more than one occasion driving home again, not having visited.”
by Vik, UK
Monday, September 22 2008, 3:53PM
“OK, this may seem a slightly bizarre idea but it could work, inspired by Odeon cinema no less! OUr local Odeon is in a complex where the parking is free for those who use the centre. When you drive in you have to wait at the barrier and collect a ticket, then when you leave the cinema, you present your parking voucher and your ticket stub (proof you were there) and they scan the ticket so that when you leave and deposit your ticket at the exit barrier, it lets you out. That way it reduces people abusing the free parking if they aren't using the site facilities.
If the NHS could adopt a similar scheme they would be laughing. They would need only 1 attendant to monitor the barriers in the case of someone not having a validated ticket, therefore money saving. Further to this, instead of doctors and nurses wasting precious time when I would imagine they are already busy arguing with silly clampers outdoors, they would just have to scan the ticket (takes like, a second) and voila! Done. They have vouched for this person being a genuine patient or visitor to the hospital in that one little action. The scanners could be at the nurses station on each ward or something.
Simple idea...probably means they won't use it.”
by Joe K, Gloucester
Monday, September 22 2008, 3:47PM
“'I'm amazed that on going to sign this petition, the majority of voting is very much in favour of NOT allowing free parking ?!?!' - Cheltnumshire
Is it really a petition if you can vote either way? And I was recently told that comments with urls were filtered out of the system.”
by Anon, gloucester
Monday, September 22 2008, 3:27PM
“Why on earth has hospital car park charge even been introduced, My wife was in labour with our Son who died and I had to keep running back to top up meter! This is the lowest of low and a parasite on humanity!”
by Jason Potter, Gloucester
Monday, September 22 2008, 2:46PM
“Hi All, just a reminder to fill out the online petition at http://jasonandkate.homestead.com/index.html many thanks”
by Simon Rickards, Newent
Monday, September 22 2008, 2:33PM
“Just found the Facebook group and joined. It's called 'Clamping petition at Gloucester Royal Hostpital' - let's all give our support.”
by Matt F, Glos
Monday, September 22 2008, 2:33PM
“Disgusting. Shame on GRH!
NHS is supposed to be 'free at the point of service'. These parking fees are a tax on the sick.”
by SJ, Gloucester
Monday, September 22 2008, 2:33PM
“Many users of the GRH, and any hospital face a similar problem, obviously manpower is involved in policing the parking, why not employ that manpower in a proactive way, it is, I am sure simple to check the "story" of anyone in a similar position, the parking staff need only to ring the unit concerned.
The person in this case had a legitimate case, why did the idiots who police this system not listen to a very senior member of staff on the unit when they pleaded to them on the mother¿s behalf.
Many patients or relatives using the parking facilities at GRH long terms have many other things on their mind, and it is easy to understand why an idiot with a wheel clamp is treated as a lower priority than a baby in SCBU long term, who may be struggling to survive.
A relative of a patient who may be dying, is obviously not thinking about what time their ticket runs out. More likely to think of how much time their loved one has left.
How much does GRH take in parking fees?
How much do they pay for the services of the clampers?
Do the clampers keep the release fee?
How is the money used?
Is a profit made?
If profit is the motive for this, it is sick, I wager the gains outweigh the cost of enforcing parking charges,
Is this moral? Should it continue? Probably not.
I am sure we all sympathise with this case.
You may not know all staff undergo similar problems in parking to do their jobs. Limited spaces, unsocial hours, and still they have to face the idiot "parking police" and they have to pay for the privilege of parking in order to do the work, for which so many are grateful.
Yours
A Nony Mouse.”
by Peter, Gloucester
Monday, September 22 2008, 2:10PM
“It is realy frustrating to read all these comments, when I know that a member of hospital staff is useing the disabled carpark within GRH for their own use, with a blue badge, fine but from 0730 to the end of their shift, this same car has been seen on several different days by different people, so why have they not been subject to clamping!!!”