'Completely substandard' Wexham Park Hospital car parks see NHS trust apologise

The NHS trust running Wexham Park Hospital has apologised for the condition of its car parks after a resident complained they were ‘unfit for purpose’.

Three car parks at the Slough hospital – used by patients, visitors and staff – cost £4 for two hours, with daily rates charged at £9.50 and a seven-day pass available for £22.

But craterous potholes, broken barriers and faulty ticket machines have drawn the ire of one regular user, who said the disrepair has left him questioning the value for money.

Langley resident Gordon Moffatt said the car parks were ‘completely substandard’ but, with little alternative options available, visitors were ‘a prisoner to parking at Wexham Park Hospital’.

Gordon Moffatt visits the hospital regularly and is frustrated by the standard of available car parking

NHS Frimley Health Foundation Trust said it was sorry for the ‘recent state of some of our car parks’ which had ‘been worsened by poor weather and damage’.

The trust said it was ‘committed’ to repairing the car park faults.

Mr Moffatt, 61, said he has visited the hospital almost every week since the turn of the year while his father is receiving treatment there.

But each time, he is faced with the parking problems: potholes, barriers teetering on the brink of collapse, and frequently faulty payment machines near the main entrance.

He said: “It's improper because you are effectively a prisoner to parking when you go to Wrexham Park Hospital.

“The only reason you’re going to go there is to either be a patient, an outpatient, or visit relatives or friends and family. I think it’s wholly wrong that these, what are now increasingly exorbitant prices, are being paid for a completely substandard, and in this case, dangerous car park.”

There are three paid car parks at Wexham Park Hospital

Mr Moffatt said: “To some extent, I can understand that maybe there’s a need to raise revenues in some way shape or form, albeit we pay a fortune in tax already anyway."

He added: “If that is the case, then you could almost accept it if there was a very high standard of parking and the car park was well maintained, well run.

“But when you turn up on a daily basis because you have to visit your relatives because they’re ill in hospital, you’re confronted with what I’ve seen.

“Which is to say poorly maintained car parks, car park payment machines that aren’t fit for purpose, quite frankly.”

The poor parking standards, he said, ‘make a very poor representation of the NHS when compared with the people who work there and that you meet on a daily basis’.

“The car park is letting the NHS down and the public and the staff,” he said.

Wexham Park Hospital’s car parks are owned by NHS Frimley Health Foundation Trust, which said money generated by them was invested back into NHS services.

A spokesperson for the trust said: “We apologise for the recent state of some of our car parks, which have been worsened by poor weather and damage.

“The barriers are in the process of being repaired and we hope to complete resurfacing work soon.

“We have an ongoing programme of maintenance, but work has been hampered recently by the unprecedented wet weather.

“As with many public highways, this has led to a deterioration in our car park surfaces.

“We are committed to repairing this damage once weather conditions allow.”