A heavily pregnant mother was slapped with a £100 parking fine on three different occasions while visiting the hospital to deal with complications. Thirty-nine-year-old Hailey James Slayter had to visit University Hospital Coventry frequently for tests during her high-risk pregnancy.
The mother-of-one, who is now eight months pregnant, had to visit the women's unit at the Walsgrave hospital three times after experiencing complications. Hailey has high blood pressure, is at risk of pre-eclampsia and doctors also fear her baby could have birth defects.
She also has to visit the hospital regularly for tests and scans so doctors can check the health of her baby, who is at risk of serious complications such as spina bifida. Hailey told CoventryLive she parked at the hospital car park close to the women's unit on the three occasions she had to visit for urgent checks.
Despite paying to park on those three occasions, Hailey was stunned later on to receive three £100 parking fines through her door, even though she had receipts to prove she had paid the correct fare. When she tried to appeal the charges with the Car Parking Partnership, the authority in charge of parking at the hospital, they were rejected.
The furious mum has now involved her MP, Citizens Advice and POPLA, the independent appeals service for Parking Charge Notices issued on private land. The frustrating situation has left her feeling upset and overwhelmed.
She said: "I've been to University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire on three occasions. I'm heavily pregnant and my baby suffers from birth defects. I'm under a consultant and have to go every few weeks as doctors think my baby could have another condition.
"They need to do detailed scans and take my blood pressure regularly. When I went, I parked my car and paid each time I went which was a total of three times.
"I park in the same spot every time next to the women's unit. I was shocked to receive the parking fines from ParkingEye (parent company of Car Parking Partnership). They didn't accept my appeal.
"I even sent them receipts and copies of my bank statements but they still didn't accept it. So I had to go to POPLA as, they deal with appeals.
"Two of the fines were accepted, but one of them hasn't even though I sent proof of payment, a receipt and a bank statement. They said I didn't put my registration at the terminal but it's on the receipt.
"I've had to go to Citizens Advice and my local MP. I feel it's unfair they're not accepting proof of payments saying that my registration wasn't put in the terminal. It's just a battle really."
Hailey was told she was unable to get a refund for the third fine because she entered an 'invalid registration number'. However, Hailey said her vehicle registration number was printed on the receipt.
Hailey said she felt upset and overwhelmed at the situation, on top of suffering from pregnancy complications and worrying about the welfare of her baby. She added: "I'm a single mum with a two year old, and I have to get to these appointments.
"I earn a living and I pay for parking. The situation is making me feel worse on top of the complications my baby is suffering, and with the health issues myself.
"I've always parked in the same area which is adjacent to the woman's unit. So I don't understand why they accepted two appeals and not the other one, though I've parked in the same place.
"My blood pressure goes up when I go to the hospital because of this. The stress of the parking situation is not helping me and if I had a choice I wouldn't go to the hospital. I could potentially give birth anytime and because of the risk of the baby and my blood pressure."
Car Parking Partnership claim Hailey had left her car parked in a private parking slot reserved only for BMI Healthcare patients. The company has since agreed to waive all three fines as a "gesture of goodwill" and advised hospital visitors and patients to carefully read the signs to avoid parking in private spaces.
A CPP spokesperson said: "Car Parking Partnership has partnered with University Hospital Coventry for over three years to significantly improve how its car parks operate. During this time there has been investment in modern consumer-facing systems which have enhanced accessibility and made parking at the hospital easier and safer for staff, patients and visitors.
"The system is designed to ensure the efficiency and smooth operation of the hospital by ensuring that patients, visitors and staff park in their allocated car parks. BMI Healthcare also operates within the healthcare campus and the motorist received a parking charge notice on three occasions after parking in the car park reserved for its patients and visitors.
"There is clear and highly-visible signage throughout advising that the car park is for BMI Healthcare patients and visitors only and that they should enter their vehicle registration into a terminal at reception to receive free parking. Despite the motorist not parking in the correct area on three occasions, we have cancelled all three charges as a gesture of goodwill based upon the mitigating circumstances outlined in their appeal.
"However we would urge the motorist to use the car parking facilities responsibly and follow the clear guidance if they visit the hospital in the future." A spokesperson for University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust said: "BMI Healthcare operates in close proximity to University Hospital Coventry and has a car park reserved for its patients and visitors.
"There is clear signage throughout advising that the car park is for BMI Healthcare patients and visitors only. We would like to take this opportunity to remind anyone visiting University Hospital by car to ensure they are using a UHCW car park."
