More than 4,000 parking fines issued at hospital
BBCMore than 4,000 parking fines were issued in a single year at a Greater Manchester hospital, campaigners have discovered through a request under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act.
Staff and patients at the Royal Oldham Hospital complained a shortage of parking options had led to medical appointments being missed and even a nurse changing her job.
GP and local Labour councillor Zahid Chauhan said: "You can drive [near] Oldham hospital and you will see loads of yellow stickers in front of the cars."
The Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust said it recognised parking could be challenging at times, and stressed it was continually looking at ways to improve access to Royal Oldham Hospital.
'Even more stress'
The FOI request found that, in 2024, more than 4,040 parking fines and 2,133 warning notices were issued.
Of 1,209 appeals submitted, 358 were upheld.
Chauhan, whose wife died of cancer two years ago, remembers spending a lot of time visiting her at the hospital.
He is now leading the campaign for better parking options.
Chauhan explained: "You will see parking marshals enforce the rules but you will not see anybody assisting."
Nurse Emma Hopwood said she even changed jobs because of the parking difficulties.
"We were short-staffed and I came in on my day off," she explained. "I came out of work to a parking fine.
"It's a stressful job and to come out to even more stress at the end of the day is not fair.
"People are missing appointments because they are driving round for about an hour and by the time they get a parking space the appointment is cancelled."
Oldham Borough Council has asked to set up a working group with the hospital trust.
The local authority wants designated parking for both A&E and the maternity unit.
Councillors have decided to work with NHS bosses on developing plans for a multi-storey car park, and to ameliorate the current situation.
"We want to work in a constructive way as we understand the hospital has its own issues," said Chauhan.
The NHS trust also said it wanted to improve life for staff, including by offering a shared lift scheme and, where feasible, some remote working.
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