Disabled driver Sue Clarke, of Much Hadham, doggedly gets Princess Alexandra Hospital parking fine overturned
A disabled driver who wrongfully received a parking fine when she went for a hospital appointment hopes her persistence in pursuing her case will encourage other Blue Badge holders who are similarly treated.
Sue Clarke, 71, who lives with husband Neil in Maltings Lane, Much Hadham, attended Princess Alexandra Hospital (PAH) in Harlow for an MRI scan.
A former primary school headteacher in Rochford and then Harlow, Sue broke both legs and suffered a head injury when she was involved in a serious collision on the M11 in February 1995. A lorry hit the back of her car, sending it into a spin, and Sue was thrown through the driver’s window despite wearing her seat belt.
She was born with developmental dysplasia of her left hip, which was exacerbated when she broke her left femur. She worked as a teaching assistant for several years whilst recovering from her injuries and went on to become a specialist advisory teacher for Hertfordshire, working with children on the autism spectrum, until she retired in 2010.
On Wednesday March 12, Sue arrived at PAH in good time for her 8.15am appointment, parked her red 2015-registered Lexus in the Blue Badge area, left the timer in the car and took in her Blue Badge to register it at reception.
A member of staff told her the desk did not open until 8am and directed her to a colleague, who noted her Blue Badge details – but did not pass them on to the staff member Sue originally spoke to.
Sue subsequently received an “aggressive” letter from Car Parking Partnership accusing her of parking at the hospital illegally and demanding a £60 fine. She appealed, detailing the circumstances, but was sent “further threats” of fines and court action if she did not provide photographic evidence of her Blue Badge, which she did.
In a complaint to PAH, Sue said: “Your staff failed to administer the information correctly, and your parking control agents are now harassing me.”
She demanded an apology and called for the hospital to “get your parking agents off my back” and to review its procedures; for example, giving an email receipt as evidence to Blue Badge holders who register their vehicles for use in the car park.
Sue received a reply from Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust’s patient experience manager saying that as the trust does not manage its own car parks and does not have access to cancel a penalty charge notice (PCN), she should contact Car Parking Partnership.
Sue wrote back, saying: “I am following up my appeal with Car Parking Partnership, but strongly believe that the hospital management are to blame for this incident in the first place and should take responsibility for it. As you can imagine, the parking fine and appeals have caused considerable stress and aggravation.
“I consider that the hospital has a general duty of care in this matter. Car Parking Partnership is, one assumes, a contractor of the hospital trust, and as such the trust has both a legal and a moral responsibility for their actions.”
Sue received a reply – which started “Dear Neil” – from the patient experience manager referring the matter to PAHT’s car parking and security team, who could see that Sue’s car had been added to the exemption list on the same day the PCN was issued, which they cancelled immediately.
Sue said: “If I hadn’t persisted, they would have been perfectly happy to take my money. They need to get their systems in order.”