Hospital car parking Our hospital car park campaign

We'd like hospitals to give visitors the option to pay on departure as well as pay and display.

Visiting hospital is stressful enough without having to worry about having the right change to pay or finding a parking space. A year on from our investigation into NHS hospital car parking in England, we wanted to check up on the situation.

We found that 73% of people who have used a hospital car park in the past two years experienced a problem. 51% said using an NHS hospital car park made visiting hospital more stressful, and 54% have had problems finding a space.

On top of this we heard stories about people being clamped for using disabled badges in standard spaces, running from a distant multi-storey to reach a relative in A and E, and costs that mounted up for parents visiting their sick baby.

Have you had problems parking at your NHS hospital? Or perhaps your hospital is in good health? We're asking you to email your hospital and let them know what you think.

7 in 10 say hospital car parking needs attention

If you're going to hospital the chances are you're already stressed. You don't need the added worry of finding a space, making sure you have change, paying over the odds, or risking getting clamped.

Patients have told us that hospital car parking is an issue that matters a great deal to them. In fact, 7 in 10 people think that hospital car parking is one of the areas which mosts need tackling in the area of health and wellbeing.

The Which? prescription

We're calling for all hospitals to:

• Provide fair charging systems and flexible payment options. This includes allowing payment on departure as well as pay and display, and allowing payment by cards as well as cash. We want to see fair and proportionate penalty mechanisms – with no clamping or towing.
• Provide support for priority patients. Plenty of designated parking spaces for priority patients, and concessions on parking fees for regular visitors and those in need.
• Talk to patients and visitors. This means providing clear information about concessions at the point when people need it, and responding effectively to comments and complaints. Hospitals should be proactive in asking car park users what they need – and acting on this where they can.