Mum fined for parking at Gwynedd hospital while having cancer treatment
A mum-of-two was left in floods of tears after receiving a parking fine while having cancer treatment at a Gwynedd hospital.Mandy Williams was at Ysbyty Gwynedd on Friday, January 21, for a round of chemotherapy.The 45-year-old from Blaenau Ffestiniog, who has breast cancer, travelled the 33 miles from her home and arrived at the hospital at around 9am for her treatment after dropping her daughter off at school.Speaking on Miss Williams' behalf, her stepfather Philip Edwards said the car parks were full and Miss Williams struggled to find somewhere to park.Having eventually found a space she made her way inside. However, when she returned to her car around five hours later, she was "devastated" to see that she had been issued with a £50 parking fine for not displaying a parking ticket.
Parking at the hospital is free, however those using the top patient and visitor car park, located on the left as you enter the hospital site, are required to obtain a ticket.This allows users to park for four hours for free. The other three larger car parks offer free all day parking without the need to obtain a ticket.Mr Edwards said: "The car parks were all chocka-block when she arrived. It usually is."She's just not strong enough at the moment to deal with all of this. The chemo is making her sick."This is the last thing she needs while dealing with cancer. I don't understand how they can fine someone for parking at a hospital that they have to go to have treatment for cancer?"She was absolutely devastated. When she arrived here she was in floods of tears and had been crying all the way home."Mr Edwards has now written a letter to Gwynedd Council on Miss Williams's behalf to contest the parking fine. She had used the top car park, but had not realised a ticket was needed.
A spokesperson for Gwynedd Council said: “The council carries out parking enforcement work on behalf of the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board to ensure that Ysbyty Gwynedd’s car parks are safe for all visitors and motorists."We appreciate that it can be a challenging time for those motorists using the car parks to visit the hospital. Anyone who believes they have been issued a parking ticket unfairly can lodge an appeal by following the advice on their ticket."Ffion Johnstone, Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board’s West Integrated Health Community Director said: “We would encourage Mr Edwards to make contact with us directly so we can look into this further.”