Michael Commane
I have often been puzzled with some of the signage or lack of it in hospitals but eventually, at my ease, I ask someone how to get to my destination. And lifts too can confuse me; is there a difference between Level 1 and Floor 1?
On a number of occasions visiting hospitals in emergencies or visiting hospitals which are not familiar to me I have often found myself greatly confused and disorientated. And the signage in the hospital has not at all helped my disorientation, indeed, it has confounded it.
Every time I exit a hospital lift it takes me a good 60 seconds to work out which direction I should go. Recently I found myself in such a situation and again was bewildered by the hospital signage. This time it was an emergency visit.
Having visited the sick person I went back to my car. The car was parked for approximately 30 minutes I jump in and drive to the barrier. The first 20 minutes was free so alas the barrier was not moving. It meant I had to go back to a pay station pay my money and eventually head off out of the hospital. What about hospital car parks where visitors have to pay in advance and there is the possibility/threat of clamping?
It was all fine and dandy for me. My thoughts were with the ill person I had been visiting and family. In the scale of things my worries were zilch.
But I have been thinking about it all since then. The 30 minutes car parking cost me €2.50. Again, there is an aspect to that that is really unimportant.
But what at all must it be like for someone who is rushing to the hospital for the first time to visit a close relative who is seriously ill? Someone for whom the hospital is a completely new experience?
The idea of cashing in on people who are in a frazzled and fragile condition sounds close to a form of abuse. In a way it seems like exploiting people when they are trapped. People are going to be slow to say anything about having to pay a few bob so as they can visit the sick. It sounds mean to say a word about it.
And then what happens if you are visiting the hospital for days on end? Does it mean that you are paying out not insignificant sums for parking every day? Certainly, the people most affected by such a tax are the poorer people in our society. Is that right? It would be interesting to know where all the revenue from car parking goes.
I mentioned my minor ordeal to someone and she pointed out that car parking fees stop people abusing the system and keep it free for genuine visitors and people using the hospital. Surely hospitals could develop a system whereby visitors are treated in a kinder and friendlier way. €2.50 for 30 minutes sounds steep to me.
I have noticed how many people are now leaving their cars on the public roads outside hospitals. This in turn can cause danger and hazard on the road. And of course it adds to the inconvenience of those visiting the sick.
Isn’t it strange, we can go off and park our cars in most shopping centres without having to pay or worry about running over our time and yet when we go to visit the sick and dying we are asked to pay up and shut up too.
Surely another Irish solution to another Irish problem.
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