A WOMAN has spoken out about the 'distressing and unnecessary' parking fines being issued at the West Cumberland Hospital.

In a letter to The Whitehaven News, Louise Brewer, from Gosforth, has hit out at the ticket system which she believes is causing 'distress and hardship' for hospital staff and visitors alike.

"The hospital itself and the staff are amazing; the problem lies entirely with the ticket company," she wrote.

"We park there because we have no choice, and we know beforehand we have to pay and accept this.

"But what is not acceptable is the total lack of empathy and understanding shown to those who were simply unable to get back to their vehicle in time for various reasons.

"The wait was longer than expected; the procedures were delayed by priority cases, elderly patients took longer to comply with the instructions for examinations, I could go on and on."

Ms Brewer claimed that a friend also faced a rejected appeal after having to wait for her son's life support to be turned off after the transplant team were delayed.

"The friend appealed, giving the name of the deceased, his date of birth, the date of his admission to ICU and the ward number. The appeal was still rejected.

"This isn't simply bad practice, this is verging on the barbaric. To penalise anyone who is undergoing such terrible trauma is inhumane," she wrote. 

Calls are being made for the hospital to introduce parking meters which charge those upon exiting the site - managing to relieve any additional stress from the situation.

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In reply, a spokesperson from North Cumbria Integrated Care (NCIC) said: "We recognise that visiting hospital can often be a stressful time and we are continuing to work with the car park management provider to make sure any appeals are dealt with in a sensitive manner.

“We don’t have the details of the particular case referenced but we could review it if more information is provided. 

"We also work with them to look at any improvements which can be made based on feedback.

"As part of the current redevelopment of West Cumberland Hospital, we will be installing pay-on-exit barriers for our patient and visitor car parks.

"This has been successful at the Cumberland Infirmary so we look forward to introducing this system as soon as it is possible in Whitehaven.

"There is a car parking appeals process in place with more information on the Trust’s website," they said.

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