Parking Inspectors - Canberra Hospital, have no heart!

NeedHelp said :

Yes, it’s pretty poor at the moment.

Hey, I live less than 5 minutes drive from the hospital, and am willing to drive both you and your wife to the hospital doors when you next have an appointment, and then collect you both when you finished. You can leave your car at my place in the meantime – FREE of charge and no parking inspectors in sight!

I work close by so am very flexible.

This is a serious offer. I know what you are going through and am very sympathetic to your circumstances.

Please indicate here if you are interested, and I can make arrangements to get my contact details to you.

NeedHelp

All I can say to you and the above people who had something nice to say and for your support is thank you! It just shows that no matter how bad things are, there are always genuinely some really nice people out there. So again THANK YOU!

Thank you needhelp for your offer. We have a lot of support and help around us, and we will be ok.

I only have two more sessions left before i start daily chemo and radiation, which will be first thing in the morning so there shouldn’t be any dramas (hopefully) in the early hours of the day and for the chemo, for that i will be taking pills, so i don’t have to spend the all day in hospital, however it is not covered by the PBS, but well it gives me a bit more freedom, so i’ll take it!

Thank you Jenna57 for picking up that Jasere obviously didn’t read the whole post or is completely ignorent to the fact of what chemo does to a person and how sick it makes a person to actually make them better.

Thanks.

gun street girl said :

A cynic, however, would suggest that the Government is wholly aware of the mess they’ve caused, and, instead of delaying construction (and building in a more stepwise approach), they’ve sent in inspectors to raise some revenue out of the people who are suffering the most as a result of their (predictable) ineptitude.

So, much like its land release policy (bugger up the release, create artificial shortage, flog off what is released at inflated prices. And as a bonus, rake it in with inflated valuations on rates and land tax).

Bundyjack, I hope you recover soon and kick the bastard cancer in the arse. I know first hand how you feel.

I recently (a few months ago) received a call advising me my brother, who was visiting us and is not a local, was in the resus unit and would need to be admitted to ICU. I was asked to come in to the hospital, by an administrator who was not real smart and advised me that my brother was unconscious and in a critical condition. She then told me to try and stay calm while driving to the hospital, we live in Queanbeyan, yeah…thanks.

I arrived at TCH and there were approx 9 empty spots marked doctor parking, the next nearest spots I could find were approx 1 – 1.5km away.

Since it was an emergency, I thought ‘stuff it, i will park here and then come back down once I know what is going on to move the car while I ring mum. There are plenty of empty spots and the ACT council is too useless to provide proper parking.’

I cam back approx 25 mins later and had a ticket, and to add insult to injury there were more empty doctors spots then when I arrived. I contested the fine with supporting letters from hospital staff advising that it was an emergency adn I needed to get to the hospital as soon as possible. The public servants knob head who reviewed basically said ‘If you are not a Doctor then too bad, pay the fine or we will suspend your right to drive in the ACT.’

They quickly backed down when they were contacted by my solicitor who advised them we would be filing to take the issue to court and we would be happy to let the local papers and news programs know. Got an apology and a letter advising that they are working to improve the hospital…..yeah right.

Jasere, you obviously did not read the OP properly. He stated that he was having chemotherapy, which in itself can be extremely debilitating. Accusing him of not being a gentleman is totally inappropriate. He and his wife deserve our sympathy and support. Hats off to the lovely NeedsHelp for his very generous offer. Wish there were more of him/her in this often ynical, callous society.

What a gentlemen, making your wife that is heavily pregnant walk a mile in the cold.

drop her off at the door and walk.

If only we lived in a city that wasnt so covered in existing construction and had room for temporary parking to be established.

Will be interesting in east Civic when the ANU takes over the remaining carpark on Marcus Clarke St/Barry drive sometime in the next week or so. Happly, in 2012 there will be some more car parks available, so that will be useful, and its not like another 1500(?) people are about to start work right across the road in the new DEEWR building.

Folks, there is no pay parking at Canberra Hospital. That initiative was abandoned years ago – and guess what – there was no discernible difference in so far as congestion goes whilst pay parking was in place, putting to rest the rumours of significant numbers of public servants from Woden routinely parking at TCH for free.

The essential problem we have is not enough parking on campus. Even with the new parks across Yamba Drive, not everyone can be accommodated. Walking over a kilometre to the main hospital, for many (particularly elderly family members of patients – remember, the majority of inpatients are not young), is a significant burden added to by the stress of finding a park in the first place. Leaving and returning to a parked car in a poorly lit, isolated area after dark is a problem for the great number of shift workers in the hospital. Many who visit the hospital certainly aren’t in a terrific frame of mind – they’re upset, grieving or scared out of their wits about themselves or someone they care about – it’s not like they’re off to the mall to do a bit of shopping. The inconvenience of finding a car park (which is often literally impossible on the TCH campus itself, thereby pushing them out onto suburban streets) may seem like a small, almost petty thing to many of us, but for people who aren’t having their best day, it causes genuine distress.

Since the hospital campus has been reduced to a construction site, the presence of parking inspectors have visibly increased. On the upside, you may argue they’re there to ensure rules don’t get broken. A cynic, however, would suggest that the Government is wholly aware of the mess they’ve caused, and, instead of delaying construction (and building in a more stepwise approach), they’ve sent in inspectors to raise some revenue out of the people who are suffering the most as a result of their (predictable) ineptitude.

Parking laws are heartless. They are black and white. Parking/Stopping restriction signs mean the same outside of a hospital as they do outside of a night club. They are enforced as such. Not saying it’s right, but the parking inspector drones are just doing their job. If you want “the government to stop them from doing this” then you need to get the government to stop ordering them to do it.

That said, I had a friend who drove himself to hospital a few years back, parked in a 2 hour spot, then ended up being ordered to stay for 2 nights. Naturally he had a fine when he got back, but contested it by sending in his hospital paperwork, and was let off.

cegee said :

nhand42 said :

Pay parking everywhere. Welcome to our “growing” city. This is the price we pay for having a Starbucks.

actually there aren’t any starbucks in canberra. there used to be, but they were closed around the time of the GFC.

‘

A year before actually.

Call me heartless, but why does your wife have to park ‘miles away’ when the parking inspectors are working? Can’t she find a close spot and pay?

They are not ‘heartless bastards’, they are doing a job which will hopefully see the spots used by people who are attending the facility. Yes, paying for parking there isn’t great, but the reason it isn’t free has been well explained. If you want to blame someone, blame the people who filled up the carpark for free when they had no business there.

I gather you’re all for the brown bombers booking people in disabled zones who aren’t? Can’t have it both ways

nhand42 said :

Pay parking everywhere. Welcome to our “growing” city. This is the price we pay for having a Starbucks.

actually there aren’t any starbucks in canberra. there used to be, but they were closed around the time of the GFC.

I thought they were running shuttle buses from the designated carpark area?

Is your issue, the fact that there were no spots to park close to the ward, or that you had to pay? You have not stated that there was not one single free spot over all 3 possible parking sides of the hospital grounds. Why could you not be dropped off. Can your wife not drive or walk being so heavily pregnant? Can she not pick you up after your treatment as well. Canberra Hospital visitors are lucky (when they try to break the Law by not paying) that it has an honesty pay parking system. Most other hospitals around Australia and the world, have boom gate pay parking. All sympathy goes out to you for your illness, but really, hospital pay parking IS A WORLD WIDE OCCURANCE,get used to it.

If in the case of a medical emergency, no other car parks and the bad parking conditions, there should be an address on the back of the ticket that will allow you to write in and dispute the ticket, while the parking inspectors are “heartless” it is there job to enforce parking laws, they don’t know who has a legitimate reason to be parking in areas where you shouldn’t park. Don’t blame the inspectors, blame the people who have given the inspectors reason to have a job, all the no brain half wits that need to park where they are going, they can’t walk the extra 20 meters so will park illegally for the own convenience.

That is why you can dispute the tickets. I will be surprised if they will make you pay the ticket with a reasonable excuse. If they do want to continue with it, go to court, I wouldn’t worry about a lawyer because the magistrates are normally on the peoples side in this type of matter.

I recently completed some treatment in Hospital in the Home – a section of the hospital. I was able to give my rego number and car description and they provided this to the inspectors who did not book me. I was at the hospital from 8am-6pm. Perhaps this is something you can investigate?

I routinely offer to send patients and family away with a certificate of attendance, just in case they get pinged by the parking inspector while they’re in seeing us. I’m also more than happy to write a letter on their behalf if they choose to fight an infringement notice they receive. I think you’ll find most of us are of the same mind when it comes to sticking it to the morons who made this mess in the first place.

Indeed. We copped a ticket the other day when my wife, who is even more pregnant than yours, had to go in for an emergency checkup. After finding absolutely nowhere to park that would be remotely possible for someone in her condition to walk from, she resorted to the bus bay – not obstructing anyone, still plenty of spaces for busses, but of course illegal. I left work as quickly as I could to come and move the car, but alas was not fast enough.

So, basically, fuck you, whoever is responsible for this deplorable state of affairs.

54-11 said :

The parking inspectors are trying their best to balance out the competing demands. The worst offenders are hospital employees who park all day in restricted parking areas, crowding out visitors who need these parks, as pointed out by Bundy above.

If you’re a TCH employee, stay out of time-restricted areas, and leave these to the patients you are supposed to serve.

Who would be providing the care to patients if none of the medical staff were there because they were still doing laps of the carparks and streets looking for somewhere to park? Self service?

Common sense is not just missing from the government it seems.

54-11, unfortunately it’s not as easy as you would suggest. TCH employees often have to resort to parking in time-restricted areas because the staff car parking is full, period. Given the choice between parking in a visitors spot and parking at the Garran shops and having to hoof it there at midnight, I know what I’d choose. I agree it’s not ideal, but I have to consider my own personal safety as well.

Let’s point the finger at the true offenders: the halfwits who didn’t forward plan around providing enough safe parking for everyone. Another win for ACT Health.

Yes, parking around the Hospital is an absolute disgrace, and it all comes down to a complete intelligence vacuum by those people responsibly for “project planning” the site (there’s an oxymoron when it comes to TCH).

However, also think about the surrounding residents who are having their streets, drives, nature strips etc all parked out.

The parking inspectors are trying their best to balance out the competing demands. The worst offenders are hospital employees who park all day in restricted parking areas, crowding out visitors who need these parks, as pointed out by Bundy above.

If you’re a TCH employee, stay out of time-restricted areas, and leave these to the patients you are supposed to serve.

nhand42 said :

Pay parking everywhere. Welcome to our “growing” city. This is the price we pay for having a Starbucks.

We have a Starbucks?

Please lodge a formal complaint to ACT Health, and make it as public and as embarrassing for the government as possible. The parking situation at TCH is nothing short of a disgrace, for employees and patients alike. ACT Health clearly doesn’t give two hoots about what the former group says, but we’re hoping that an avalanche of bad publicity and incessant complaints from the latter may make a difference.

not to be unsympathetic, your family health situation sounds stressful, but if it wasn’t paid parking at the hospital i suspect you’d unfortunately find that workers at woden would go ‘yippee free parking’ and take up the whole parking lot every day – well monday-friday at least. at least with it paid, it encourages short-term parking therefore providing space for legitimate hospital visitors.

NeedHelp said :

Yes, it’s pretty poor at the moment.

Hey, I live less than 5 minutes drive from the hospital, and am willing to drive both you and your wife to the hospital doors when you next have an appointment, and then collect you both when you finished. You can leave your car at my place in the meantime – FREE of charge and no parking inspectors in sight!

I work close by so am very flexible.

This is a serious offer. I know what you are going through and am very sympathetic to your circumstances.

Please indicate here if you are interested, and I can make arrangements to get my contact details to you.

NeedHelp

NeedHelp, you give me a renewed sense of faith in the inherent goodness of people.

Yes, it’s pretty poor at the moment.

Hey, I live less than 5 minutes drive from the hospital, and am willing to drive both you and your wife to the hospital doors when you next have an appointment, and then collect you both when you finished. You can leave your car at my place in the meantime – FREE of charge and no parking inspectors in sight!

I work close by so am very flexible.

This is a serious offer. I know what you are going through and am very sympathetic to your circumstances.

Please indicate here if you are interested, and I can make arrangements to get my contact details to you.

NeedHelp

Pay parking everywhere. Welcome to our “growing” city. This is the price we pay for having a Starbucks.