The car park at Lincoln County Hospital. Photo: Connor Creaghan for The Lincolnite
Some patients at Lincoln County Hospital are frustrated, claiming people are using the temporarily free car park as a ‘Park & Ride’ for a day out in the city.
As previously reported, parking for patients and visitors at the hospital is currently free after a technical glitch with the new ParkingEye system installed in November.
However, ULHT said machines are expected to be fixed by the end of the month.
“Makes my blood boil”
People have reported that the car park has been overflowing since payment systems were halted. Some confronted those parking and leaving the site to be told they were using it as a ‘park and ride’.
Tracy Phillips was affected by the parking fiasco when she went to the hospital recently with her son, who has a valid blue parking badge.
She told The Lincolnite: “While waiting at the disabled parking bays near the entrance for a space to become available.
“I saw a couple walking to the disabled car park with High Street store shopping bags, the lady had a walking stick.
“As they started to put the shopping in their car and prepared to drive away I asked them if they had left their car there, using up a disabled space and taken a bus into town?
“At first they wouldn’t reply, but when I asked again they laughingly answered, to my incredulity, that while it was free parking at the hospital they used it as a ‘park and ride’ into town and, as they had a blue badge, were perfectly entitled to park there.
“There aren’t nearly enough blue badge spaces at the hospital as it is and selfish behaviour like this makes my blood boil.”
Don’t park for a day out
Cancer patient Marie Butler told The Lincolnite: “I have secondary breast cancer stage four in my liver, so I am up at county a lot. Parking at the moment is a nightmare as, as you know it is free.
“I had an appointment at the breast unit on Wednesday and just could not get parked. I then tried the main car parks, including physio, but there were still no spaces so I had to park on Curle Avenue for an hour.
“The thought that people are parking there for any reason other than genuine appointments is disgusting.
“Obviously we are not the only people struggling to get parked for very important appointments. The thought that others are using LCH car park as a freebie for leisure purposes, or anything other than what it should be used for is truly thoughtless.”
The new system has been the cause of much anger. Photo: Connor Creaghan for The Lincolnite
There is free parking at Lincoln County Hospital until January due to technical issues with the new system. Photo: Avril Page
Parking issues
ParkingEye took over the parking facilities in late November at Lincoln, Grantham and Boston hospitals, but faced issues with ANPR cameras and the payment machines.
People were confused about the system which required them to remember their full registration numbers, with queues forming as machines failed at all three sites in early December.
Initially parking charges were meant to return at Lincoln on January 7, but this was delayed further.
Reporters contacted ULHT for a response and the trust said it was still aiming to have this issue resolved by the end of January.
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There have been 50 new coronavirus cases and three COVID-related deaths in Greater Lincolnshire on Tuesday — compared to 58 cases and no deaths this time last week.
The government’s COVID-19 dashboard recorded 26 new cases in Lincolnshire, 19 in North Lincolnshire and five in North East Lincolnshire.
On Tuesday, three deaths were registered in Lincolnshire, none in North East Lincolnshire and -1 in North Lincolnshire. Fluctuations in data are usually due to some deaths in those areas being reallocated to other regions across the UK or a miscount. These figures include deaths both in and out of hospitals, as well as residents in hospitals outside the county.
NHS England has reported two new local hospital deaths at United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust hospitals.
On Tuesday, national cases increased by 2,472 to 4,375,814, while deaths rose by 23 to 127,123.
In local news, people aged over 45 can now book their COVID vaccinations on the NHS website after the government reached its target of offering a first dose to the nine most vulnerable groups.
There were recently some technical difficulties for people accessing the NHS website, but vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi said the issues have been fixed – book a vaccine online here and find out if you are eligible.
Over the weekend, Greater Lincolnshire’s infection rate has fallen, with a spike in Boston only.
Similarly, the England average has also seen a drop in infections, but still remains nearly half Greater Lincolnshire’s rates.
Lincoln has dropped by more than half over the weekend and now has one of the smallest rates in the UK, with just 9.1 per 100,000 of the population infected with COVID-19.
Here’s Greater Lincolnshire’s COVID-19 infection rates up to April 12:
Greater Lincolnshire’s infection rates from Apr 5 to Apr 12. | Data: Gov UK / Table: James Mayer for The Lincolnite
In national news, Boris Johnson has warned that the reduction in coronavirus infections, hospitalisations and deaths “has not been achieved” by the rollout of COVID vaccines.
The prime minister, speaking the day after the latest easing of lockdown restrictions, instead said it was the national shutdown that had been “overwhelmingly important” in driving down COVID rates.
England is giving out its first doses of the Moderna jab, the third COVID-19 vaccine in the nation’s rollout.
It will be available at 21 sites, included the Madejski Stadium in Reading and the Sheffield Arena.
Along with the Pfizer jab, it offers an alternative to the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine for under-30s, after concerns about a possible link to very rare blood clots.
Coronavirus data for Greater Lincolnshire on Tuesday, April 13
Greater Lincolnshire includes Lincolnshire and the unitary authorities of North and North East (Northern) Lincolnshire.
58,772 cases (up 50)
40,935 in Lincolnshire (up 26)
9,245 in North Lincolnshire (up 19)
8,592 in North East Lincolnshire (up five)
2,184 deaths (up three)
1,613 from Lincolnshire (up three)
303 from North Lincolnshire (down one)
268 from North East Lincolnshire (no change)
of which 1,302 hospital deaths (up two)
810 at United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust (up two)
41 at Lincolnshire Community Health Service hospitals (no change)
1 at Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation Trust (no change)
450 in Northern Lincolnshire (NLAG) (no change)
4,375,814 UK cases, 127,123 deaths
DATA SOURCE — FIGURES CORRECT AT THE TIME OF the latest update. postcode data includes deaths not in healthcare facilities or in hospitals outside authority boundaries.
There will be another Kill The Bill protest in Lincoln next week, rallying against a new government bill that diminishes protesting rights.
Protests have been rife across the country since the government’s proposed Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill was first discussed, with scenes turning violent in Bristol.
Over two hundred people peacefully took part in the city’s first march at Speakers’ Corner on April 3, including Extinction Rebellion activists and Socialist and Labour supporters.
| Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Now, after a post started doing the rounds on social media, another protest has apparently been scheduled for 2pm on Monday, April 17 at the same location on Lincoln High Street, as part of a national day of action.
A poster promoting a second event has been shared across social media platforms.
Protests are lawful once again after the government eased lockdown restrictions on March 29, but organisers are required to submit a risk assessment prior to any event.
| Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Organisers of the last protest were in close communication with police to make the event safe, and The Lincolnite has asked Lincolnshire Police if they have been made aware of another protest, but are yet to receive a reply.
What’s in the new policing bill?
Police get more power to impose conditions on non-violent protests, including those which are deemed too noisy or a nuisance
Anyone refusing to follow police directions about a protest could be fined up to £2,500
It also gives police more power to deal with “static protests” such as “sit-ins”, referencing the Extinction Rebellion protests which, the bill states, cost £16 million to police
Protesting around the UK Parliament will also be outlawed by ensuring vehicle access is maintained.
The rules set out in the bill can be applied to a demonstration of just one person.
The Home Office insists it will respect the human right to protest as set out in the Human Rights Act.