A woman in Harrogate said she was “horrified” to be hit with a £100 parking ticket whilst she was collecting an NHS prescription from Well Pharmacy on Wetherby Road.
Shirley Hopkinson collects a repeat prescription from the pharmacy, which is part of Kingswood Medical Centre, twice a month. She said she always phones ahead to check it is ready to collect.
When she came to pick it up on November 17, the pharmacy was busy so she waited for 33 minutes.
This is longer than the 15 minutes free parking allowed in the adjoining car park.
Ten days later, Ms Hopkinson received a parking fine for £100 from a private company called Civil Enforcement, which it said would be reduced to £60 if paid straight away.
She queried the fine with the pharmacy, which told her customers regularly received fines for overstaying in the car park. It added she could appeal, although there was no guarantee this would be successful.
Ms Hopkinson said:
“I am horrified that an NHS doctor’s surgery and pharmacy have allowed a privately owned parking enforcement company to issue patients, family and friends with huge fines for simply collecting prescriptions.”
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Ms Hopkinson said the car park should be free to use for longer than 15 minutes, which she said is not long enough if there is a queue or you need advice.
She added:
“Wetherby Road is a very busy road with next to no on-street parking available for people to use.
“When I was in the pharmacy an elderly lady that was collecting her husband’s prescriptions told me she had also been fined. Why should people who are ill, elderly or simply collecting medication be penalised? The car park has a few signs stating a waiting period of 15 minutes.”
A spokesman for Well Pharmacy told the Stray Ferret that it does not own the car park, so it does not control how long people can park there or whether motorists receive fines.
It said it was “deeply regrettable” that Ms Hopkinson had to wait 33 minutes, but said the pharmacy was under extra pressure due to covid.
