Visitors have slammed the "car parking nightmare" at a frequently overcrowded hospital site - including one woman who missed being at her dying grandmother's side because of the length of time it took to find a space.
Dozens of people have contacted The Northern Echo to voice their concerns over car parking issues at Darlington Memorial Hospital.
Complaints include that the car park is often full, a lack of disabled bays, broken down ticket machines and knock-on effects for residents of surrounding streets.
A spokesperson for the NHS Trust said it understands the concerns and added that a review of parking and traffic management is underway at both Darlington and Durham hospital sites.
One woman told The Northern Echo she thinks parking Darlington Memorial Hospital is "disgraceful" after her grandmother passed away during the time it took her to find a space.
Posting on social media, the woman, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “Myself and my cousin went to go sit with her, after the family were called in.
"We drove around the car park for 45 minutes looking for a space and then had problems with the ticket machine not working.
"By the time we managed to get up to the ward my gran had already passed ten minutes earlier, so we never got to be with her whilst she was dying as we were stuck in the car park.
“With the car park handing out fines, I didn’t dare leave my car not in a space as there and wasn’t anywhere else to safely leave it.”
She added: “I’ll be surprised if anything is done about it, but we can hope it will be. It is bad enough for appointments or visiting times, but it is even worse when it is your loved one’s final moments.
“The parking was as bad a few days before the morning she died as we had spent 45 minutes looking for a space. We then had problems again with machines not working which meant we were late for visiting and we didn’t get to see her for as long as we wanted to.
"I didn’t know at that time that that would be the last time I would get to see and speak to my grandma whilst she was alive.”
Her experience is not an isolated onet with numerous patients and visitors sharing similar complaints about the hospital’s parking challenges.
Speaking to The Northern Echo, Francesca Richardson, shared her experience of being a disabled user of the car park.
She said: “There are not enough disabled bays at all. I have gone to my appointments 30 minutes early and still not managed to find a parking space.
"This has meant I have had to park in the surrounding streets. However, this causes me a lot of pain having to walk to my appointment. The main car park isn’t big enough at all, having 10 to 15 disabled bays for the full hospital is madness.”
She added: “I have also received a parking ticket from there as I had nowhere else to park. My pain was too much for me to park in the neighbouring streets, so I parked safely on double yellows with my blue badge displayed. However, I still got a ticket as it's private land and parking on double yellows isn’t permitted.
"For the amount of people who visit the hospital, the main car park is not adequate, and the amount of disabled bays is disgusting really. A multi-story parking facility perhaps would be advantageous.”
More than 100 people voiced their concerns in response to a Facebook post by The Northern Echo.
Bex Lombard-Earl highlighted that on Sunday, October 13 three out of the four ticket machines were out of order. She said: “I’m able to walk to each one but for less able people this may not be the case.”
Debbie Hull said: “It's the worst hospital car park I’ve ever been to because you can’t get parked due to the lack of available spaces and there is no parking nearby. This hits the most vulnerable and sick people and their visitors - at a time when they need support, not a car parking nightmare!”
Julie Hodgson said: “There is no parking… it is like winning the lottery if you find a space and then you have to pay… that is if you can find the one working machine.”
Another woman suggested a solution to the issue. Isobel Penman said: “Everyone who needs to visit Darlington Memorial Hospital knows it's going to be a nightmare finding a parking space, especially a disabled one, but everyone tries with hope in their heart only to be bitterly disappointed.
“It's been the same for years. Only a multistorey car park will solve the problem, or a park and ride for the physically able patients will help, leaving disabled bays free for those who can't walk far or need to use a wheelchair. Perhaps the new multistorey car park at the railway station could be used as a model for such a scheme.”
The issue is also affecting residents living near the hospital as the roads become overcrowded with cars parked on them, rather than using the hospital site.
Carol Robson, who lives near the hospital, said: “If I go out and come back home 99 per cent of the time my space has gone so then I have to drive around looking for a parking space and go back later in the evening to get my car to park outside my house.”
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A spokesperson for County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust said: “We understand the concerns raised regarding parking at Darlington Memorial Hospital and appreciate the feedback from our patients and visitors.
“Currently, Synchronicity Care Limited, in partnership with the Trust, is reviewing parking and traffic management across both Darlington Memorial Hospital and the University Hospital of North Durham.
"This review aims to recommend and implement improvements that will benefit all users of our facilities. We also encourage visitors to consider alternative travel options where appropriate. We remain committed to exploring all practical solutions to improve parking for our patients and visitors.”
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