Strangers have helped pay for a nurse’s £40 parking fine after she worked a 13 hour shift. Emma Chapman was given given her second Fixed Penalty Notice in one week despite having paid £12.50 to park.
Mrs Chapman who works as a senior sister A&E nurse at Queen’s Hospital in Romford, East London has said that many of her colleagues are also regularly given fines.
This is because the parking tickets in the hospital car park last for a maximum of 12 hours despite the fact that many hospital staff work 13 hour shifts.
However, when Mrs Chapman’s husband Lee posted an image of the parking fine on social networking site Linkedin kind strangers rushed to help pay the fine.
Speaking to Metro.co.uk Mrs Chapman said she was “angry” and in “tears” when she found out that she had received a parking ticket.
She said: “When I came home after getting the ticket again, I was in tears because I was so angry that this keeps happening.
“After a busy shift treating patients in corridors and feeling disheartened by not being able to give the proper care they need, to come out and see a parking ticket on your car feels so demotivating.
“I was amazed by the response on LinkedIn because I felt in the past that I hadn’t been listened to.”
Mrs Chapman also said that she was concerned that hospital staff were struggling to pay for parking fines as many were having to take on extra shifts due to the rising cost of living.
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She said: “They only allow people to park up to 12 hours, whereas we are working 13-hour shifts, and I can’t just drop everything to move my car because I might be dealing with an emergency.
“We are also trying to retain staff at the moment, especially as we have a lot of agency staff, and if they are getting fined that is not going to help.
“I think the council needs to be more mindful that we are working shifts longer than the maximum length ticket.”
Speaking to The Havering Daily Leader of Havering Council, Ray Morgon said that the council would try to resolve the situation.
He said: “We appreciate all the incredible work our nurses are doing and we will act on this straight away.
“We will carry out a review and see how we can resolve this situation for our nurses.”
