Not Visiting
The hospital car park that is nearest to the Comunist's ward is a multi-storey with three floors.
I had been working in Dewsbury with some student nurses and doctors this morning, and planned to call in to see the Communist on my way back.
I thought that the multi-storey would be pretty empty as it was right at the beginning of visiting time for this ward, and indeed earlier than visiting time for most wards.
Wrong! It was completely full, with many cars driving round and round trying to find a space. I have my suspicions that, because it's in town, although it's just supposed to be for hospital visitors, people use it to park whilst they're shopping. It costs £2 for up to two hours, and then jumps to £6 for more than two hours. But you can do quite a lot of shopping in two hours.
The only empty spaces were the ones saved for people visiting Intensive Care, and I think it's right that there are spaces reserved for that.
I tried the only other car park nearby, which, unsurprisingly, was full too. I needed to get back to the office, and by now I'd been driving round and round for forty minutes, getting more and more frustrated. Any other car park would take me half an hour to walk to the hospital, and another half an hour back again. I gave up and came home, feeling very upset. My mother said, "It's okay - you don't need to visit today. Syd's going this afternoon."
Maybe not - but I wanted to. I wanted to see him. My poor mother never quite understands this - she can just see that I'm really busy and that it takes a lot of time to visit.
Two things: at £2 a time the cost really mounts up - - I probably go six days a week, which amounts to quite a lot of money since the beginning of June. Okay, I can afford it - thought I've certainly noticed it - but I bet many people can't. Shouldn't it be possible to get a weekly ticket?
The lack of parking spaces is a real problem. Perhaps a system where you could collect something from the hospital to prove you are a genuine visitor?
Ah, yes, Daphne, but you should travel by public transport, of course. And I would do - - except it's about three quarters of an hour each way, once you've queued for buses, plus another twenty minutes to walk across town. That's more than two hours before you've even started the visit. The whole visiting thing takes about two hours every day, even going by car. Over a long period of time, it's really exhausting.
Taxi? - - About seven quid each way. Fourteen quid a day. Okay for a week, perhaps - too much for five months.
I know it's not really anyone's fault - - it's The System. I don't think there's anyone in charge of making it easier for visitors to visit - if there is, they're not doing a very good job of it. And actually, having visitors is surely one of the things that speeds a patient's recovery.
I'll try again tomorrow.
I had been working in Dewsbury with some student nurses and doctors this morning, and planned to call in to see the Communist on my way back.
I thought that the multi-storey would be pretty empty as it was right at the beginning of visiting time for this ward, and indeed earlier than visiting time for most wards.
Wrong! It was completely full, with many cars driving round and round trying to find a space. I have my suspicions that, because it's in town, although it's just supposed to be for hospital visitors, people use it to park whilst they're shopping. It costs £2 for up to two hours, and then jumps to £6 for more than two hours. But you can do quite a lot of shopping in two hours.
The only empty spaces were the ones saved for people visiting Intensive Care, and I think it's right that there are spaces reserved for that.
I tried the only other car park nearby, which, unsurprisingly, was full too. I needed to get back to the office, and by now I'd been driving round and round for forty minutes, getting more and more frustrated. Any other car park would take me half an hour to walk to the hospital, and another half an hour back again. I gave up and came home, feeling very upset. My mother said, "It's okay - you don't need to visit today. Syd's going this afternoon."
Maybe not - but I wanted to. I wanted to see him. My poor mother never quite understands this - she can just see that I'm really busy and that it takes a lot of time to visit.
Two things: at £2 a time the cost really mounts up - - I probably go six days a week, which amounts to quite a lot of money since the beginning of June. Okay, I can afford it - thought I've certainly noticed it - but I bet many people can't. Shouldn't it be possible to get a weekly ticket?
The lack of parking spaces is a real problem. Perhaps a system where you could collect something from the hospital to prove you are a genuine visitor?
Ah, yes, Daphne, but you should travel by public transport, of course. And I would do - - except it's about three quarters of an hour each way, once you've queued for buses, plus another twenty minutes to walk across town. That's more than two hours before you've even started the visit. The whole visiting thing takes about two hours every day, even going by car. Over a long period of time, it's really exhausting.
Taxi? - - About seven quid each way. Fourteen quid a day. Okay for a week, perhaps - too much for five months.
I know it's not really anyone's fault - - it's The System. I don't think there's anyone in charge of making it easier for visitors to visit - if there is, they're not doing a very good job of it. And actually, having visitors is surely one of the things that speeds a patient's recovery.
I'll try again tomorrow.
posted by Daphne at 5:57 pm
1 Comments:
I agree with you entirely - nobody seems to think about making it easier for people to visit loved ones in hospital.
When I was visiting my dying mum, often for up to six hours a day every day, it was a regular ordeal trying to find somewhere to park in the woefully inadequate hospital car park and having to remember to have at least four pound coins for the ticket machine which of course wouldn't take notes or cards (£4 was the minimum payment but bought you up to 4 hours I think).
After a few weeks of this we discovered that it was possible to buy a season ticket from the hopsital front desk (like ones you get for buses where you scratch off the date and park as long as you like, assuming you have actually managed to find a space). This season ticket was valid for all the hospital car parks. It also worked out much cheaper than the daily amount I was forking out for parking and I could pay for it by credit or debit card.
Nobody had previously told us about the season ticket and there were no signs up anywhere in the car park or hospital about them. It was only when one of the wonderful palliative care staff overheard my father complaining about the trouble he had in making sure he had change for the car park that we found out about the season ticket system.
It might be worth asking if a similar (secret) system exists at the LGI. It might do, and if not, perhaps you asking about it would inspire them to introduce one.
Wishful thinking? We can but hope. Good luck with parking next time round.
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