Warning as Brits made late for hospital appointments as they search for a car park – don’t get caught out

HUNDREDS of British drivers were late to their hospital appointments due to a lack of parking spaces, according to research.

It has been revealed that potentially a third of people who drove to a hospital appointment over the last six months were late because they couldn’t find anywhere to park. 

Research carried out by YourParkingSpace.co.uk asked 1,006 motorists which events they were delayed to over the last six months due to being unable to find a place to park.

And 32% of the drivers said they have been late for hospital appointments, making it the highest event stated on the list.

With NHS data showing that over 120 million hospital outpatient appointments were made last year, this could mean that millions of people in the UK were potentially late to their appointments, putting them at risk of cancellation.    

Brannan Coady, CEO of YourParkingSpace.co.uk, said: “With the NHS under so much pressure right now, the last thing hospitals need is for people to be late to their appointments or maybe even cancelling them as there aren’t enough spaces available.

“The latest news comes at a time when the NHS is already under scrutiny because of extensive waiting list increases for both A&E and other elective surgeries, among other prominent issues it is facing. 

“As hospital waiting lists are also at their highest since the NHS was formed, imagine the further despair and misery this could cause someone who has waited a long time to be seen by a medical professional, to then have their appointment cancelled because they couldn’t find a parking spot in time.”

The research revealed that over the last ten years, appointments scheduled at hospitals in the UK have increased by 20million.

And Coady also believes that greater parking infrastructure investment is required to handle the escalating traffic numbers.

“If you consider the number of people that use hospital car parking, the staff, patients and visitors, it is easy to see how the increased volume of people going there has caused this issue to spill over,” he added.

Further research conducted by YourParkingSpace.co.uk found that stays of up to one hour cost around £2.80 at many hospitals.

But patients could instead use the online portal to locate and pre-book a nearby spot, sometimes for as little as £1 and guarantee they can get to their appointment on time.