Parking in Vancouver is insane
 

We had 3 medical appointments this week in Vancouver, and in total spent like 60 dollars in parking charges not cheap to park even at hospitals these days.

I personally think hospitals and medical facilities should not be allowed to charge for parking, why create financial hardships and hurdles for people going to see doctors and other medical appointments at public hospitals?

Re: Parking in Vancouver is insane
 

If you don't like it, move back to the UK.. OHhh Hang on they charge for parking there..:lol:

Re: Parking in Vancouver is insane
 

I dare you to start a thread about something positive in your life.

Re: Parking in Vancouver is insane
 

Never been to the UK, so no need to move back ;)

I don't have an issue with paid parking in general, but public hospitals should not be doing it, a lot of people can't afford the parking rates, and have to leave their home area for medical treatment because its not offered locally. It' not a small sum of money when your paying it on a regular basis to see a doctor.

Not like there is an alternative transportation wise, no choice but to drive.

When something good happens I might... Lots of setbacks lately with no real solution I can think of or have found yet.

I came close to something positive happening, but the government put a kink in that for now..

Re: Parking in Vancouver is insane
 

NHS and parking charges annoy me. My mother worked at a local hospital and had to pay to park, there was no staff car park so that wasn't an option. I felt this was rather poor to say the least, the people have to be there every single day. Oh, one could suggest using other methods of transit, but in this case it wasn't an option.
I seem to recall that in their infinite wisdom the NHS is no longer going to charge staff to park. Bravo!

Apart from the obvious revenue stream for the hospital, I suspect the other reason for paid parking in hospitals is that people would, depending on the location of the hospital, just use it as a regular car park when they go shopping, thus defeating the purpose of why the car park is there in the first place.

I'm trying to recall how much parking was at Sick Kids. I don't think it was that much, but it's been quite few years since I had to park there, so no doubt prices have gone up. Actually that's a good example for why there is paid parking. hospital is in a pretty good downtown location - for shopping for example - so I could see some people abusing it if it were free.

Re: Parking in Vancouver is insane
 

This has got me thinking now. We have a shoppers drug mart not far from here and their car park - a big one - is always busy Monday to Friday. More than numbers indicated by shoppers.

It made me think people just parked there for their working day, although I was always a little doubtful of that as it tended to be empty on Friday afternoons as if people knocked off early and anyway there aren't many workplaces in the area without their own parking.

Now I'm thinking that visitors and staff are maybe using it and walking the 5 minutes down to the hospital. The clinics are hugely busy on weekdays.

On weekends, the hospital car park (usually "full" during the week) has plenty of spaces while the free metered parking is packed.

I suppose it's obvious now I think about it.

Apparently the meters operate to 6.00 pm but those near hospitals charge until 10.00 pm. Why not weekends too? I mean if you justify extending through the evening, why not weekends as well?

Re: Parking in Vancouver is insane
 

Where I worked there was a specific car park for staff, barrier entry, and we had to pay £4 a month to sue it, however the car park would take aroung 75% of the staff cars, so get to work late, or be on a later shift, then you had to pay the full Patients and Visitors charge. Car park charges for staff were introduced because the Income tax people said that if the hospital gave free car parking to staff, then we would be taxed as if we were getting an extra £30 a month as a 'perk'.

Re: Parking in Vancouver is insane
 

I don't know if there's a car park specifically at Sick Kids but I used to park in the one for Mount Sinai (that's just across the road for people in the tundra). The fee there was outrageous for the first half hour but fell to merely expensive over eight hours. The charging mechanism was that lost tickets were charged for twenty-four hours.

I thought the hospital policy was nasty to people who came to visit patients in that it was robbing them with shocking short term parking charges so I felt no guilt at routinely parking a car there for weeks on end and paying the 24 hour rate upon exit.

Re: Parking in Vancouver is insane
 

Maybe you could start a protest!

Re: Parking in Vancouver is insane
 

Yes, Sick Kids does have it's own car park.

There are a couple of car parks for Mount Sinai, not sure if they are owned / maintained by the hospital though. I *think* the one that sits between their two buildings might be (think it's just ground level parking) and wouldn't be surprised if this is the rip off one. The other one or two places on the same street weren't too bad when I used them.

Re: Parking in Vancouver is insane
 

If they had free parking the lot would be full all the time with people parking free to go shopping.
Unfortunately its a necessary evil and the only way being free would work is if all parking where free .

Re: Parking in Vancouver is insane
 

I don't mean to pick on you, Juggernaut, as others on this thread have said more or less the same thing, but this is nonsense.

Suppose the hospitals did what various supermarkets have been doing for years. You park, you take your ticket with you into the hospital, and you get it validated (or exchanged for a token, or whatever) at a reception or customer services desk on your way out. That then entitles you to exit the car park without paying; meanwhile those who don't have a legitimate reason to be in the hospital can't get their ticket validated and have to pay significant fees to raise the exit barrier. It's not beyond the wit of man, neither does it require large capital investment or much in the way of staff resources. I suppose there would be a few people (dbd?) brazen enough to abuse the system, but it would undoubtedly cut down on people parking to go to the shops.

I've always thought it particularly unkind that in effect the sicker you are the more you get dinged for parking fees. I once drove a neighbour down to our local hospital so that she could retrieve her car from the parking lot before fees became exorbitant: her husband had driven himself down as he wasn't feeling too well, and was admitted through Emerg without a chance to extract the vehicle, so he had to call home and get somebody to rescue it. I suppose if he'd been so unwell as to have called an ambulance he wouldn't have had to pay parking, but that seems rather to encourage people to abuse the EMS system...

Re: Parking in Vancouver is insane
 

Possibly, but they don't need to charge insane prices to patients. If a movie theater or grocery store can validate parking for their customers, hospitals could for patients as well.

Charge visitors all they want, but charging patients who have no choice but to go to the facility and have no other transportation options, is just mean.

The government doesn't want to provide medical care locally to people and force them to go into Vancouver, so there is already substantial costs to the patients.


I just think charging patients to park to receive medical care is just poor taste.

Re: Parking in Vancouver is insane
 

But may have been on the hook for ambulance fees instead. :blink:

$130 here. :eek:

Re: Parking in Vancouver is insane
 

I think it's $80 here for BC residents covered by MSP. They used to, maybe still do charge non-residents a higher rate. Still a bargain compared to what an ambulance ride in the US can cost.

Re: Parking in Vancouver is insane
 

After my recent jaunt in a BC ambulance i can concur its $80 with MSP!

Re: Parking in Vancouver is insane
 

I remember when my son had a seizure in the middle of the night. called 911, went to the hospital. When we were discharged it was mentioned we'd need to pay for the EMS trip. This was news to me and I was somewhat disgusted. Seems if someone calls it for you then you don't pay, but if you call it, you're on the hook. hmm.

It seems OHIP covers part of the cost, but there is still a portion you have to pay. I believe the health benefit plan covered it, or so I was told. Even still, not impressed.

Re: Parking in Vancouver is insane
 

I called one for my wife when, already disabled and unwell, she fell and cracked ribs.

She was okay to be discharged after x-rays and additional painkillers but there was no way she'd have managed the steps back into the house, particularly with all the snow and ice. So they said they'd get the ambulance crew to take her back and get her up.

We had two bills @ $130, so even the hospital calling doesn't necessarily mean there's no charge.

The major puzzle for me is that since we've been here, with each change of government one party has scrapped charges and the other re-introduced them.

I know there's not that much difference between the two main parties - so little I wouldn't even describe it as ideology - but I really would have expected their respective stances on ambulance charges to be reversed. Conservative in favour, Liberal against.

But maybe the Libs work on the basis that the poorest would be exempt anyway, so no real harm done by having them. :o

Re: Parking in Vancouver is insane
 

Basic ambulance fee in Sk. is $245 to $325 plus mileage and extra fees for doing their job. Fees are capped at $275 for those over 65 apparently, which I didn't know, and those on social assistance can get some coverage or even complete coverage.. Occasionally there are local news stories about someone walking many blocks with stab wounds to get to emergency; it's because they know they can't afford the ride.
Parking at hospitals and SIAST where I go for dental is $2/hr or portion thereof. SIAST has no other parking options nearby other than taking the bus but the hospitals are easy - drive around and find a spot in a 2 hr. residential street a block (or 2 or 3) away and park free. Workers who won't pay for employee parking and run out on their breaks to move their cars complicate the problem so it can take a few circuits of the neighbourhood to find a spot. In Vancouver my friends do the same when going to Chinatown; there's a park (can't remember the name but it's where the old Italians are always playing bocce) a couple of blocks away and there's almost always a 2hr free spot around it.
Sometimes I have to bite the bullet when putting someone on a plane or picking them up and pay $2 for 15 min in the airport lot but that won't kill me and it isn't often.

Re: Parking in Vancouver is insane
 

I am completely guessing, but I think part of the ambulance fee is to deter people from calling the ambulance for every little thing, when an ambulance may not otherwise be needed. If it were fully covered, I can see people calling for literally anything. "I have a hangnail, send an ambulance!"

Re: Parking in Vancouver is insane
 

You guess well.

Ẁhenever the topic comes up in the media here, that's exactly what is said. I think they use the word inappropriate.

Re: Parking in Vancouver is insane
 

I used to do a lot of healthcare work- which meant parking in hospital carparks- and confirm they're hugely expensive across the board- thankfully it was expensible. $20-$25 max per day typical.

Royal Marsden in UK was also pay to park but there was a half hour free drop of spot. When I got the radiotherapy down to an art I could be in and out in 20 mins- their timekeeping was generally excellent.

Re: Parking in Vancouver is insane
 

BC at one point had distance based fees, a number of years back went to a flat rate for BC residents, visitors from other provinces/countries don't get the subsidized rate though.

There are also some exemptions, those on social assistance, disability or low income and on premium assistance have the fees waived currently.

Depending on where you are in BC, you might be better off calling a cab or having someone drive you if you can since not all regions have 24/7 active paramedic coverage and wait times can be unacceptably long everywhere in the province. Late at night/early morning here no unusual to wait 20 minutes for an ambulance, hospital is a 5-8 min drive from most of the town.

Like everything in healthcare, the BC government under funds and doesn't run the service like it should be run.

Re: Parking in Vancouver is insane
 

Having a husband who doesn't drive and a small child in the house, i was glad of the ambulance service. They were at the door within 10 minutes and didn't mess around getting me to ER.
Weirdly I don't mind the fee, i have friends in both countries who tell far too many stories of the time wasters who get in the way real emergencies. The cost may well make folks hesitate before calling

Re: Parking in Vancouver is insane
 

Friends of ours recently had a garbled message from their daughter. When they went to her apartment she had sadly passed away. They called an ambulance and were charged for it. Seems a bit mean, what were they supposed to do, put her in the back of a car and drive to the mortuary. I think they should be able to use their discretion when billing people!

Re: Parking in Vancouver is insane
 

If your in Metro Vancouver they have 24/7 coverage, elsewhere in the province is not the case so wait times can get to unacceptable levels.

Not the fault of the paramedics they do a fine job, the fault lies with the government and their insistence to not properly fund the healthcare system.

Re: Parking in Vancouver is insane
 

I'm sorry but your post doesn't make much sense to me. Why would they call for an ambulance for someone already deceased. Surely an undertaker would have been more appropriate. And where were the police in this situation? Wouldn't such a sudden death have precipitated action by them such as calling in a coroner and arrangement of a postmortem?

Re: Parking in Vancouver is insane
 

They tried to resuscitate her as it hadn't been long since she called them. As a parent you find your daughter like that you instinctively call the paramedic. The police were called by the emergency services. Post mortem took a few weeks!

Re: Parking in Vancouver is insane
 

Unless they had medical training there is perhaps no certainty a person is deceased, it may not have been obvious. One also hopes there is a chance to revive the person.

The ambulance is the first instinctive thought, not the police or anyone else. You don't go into a room see someone lying on floor the still, perhaps appearing not to be breathing and think, oh shit they must be dead, let's cut out the middleman and call an undertaker!

Re: Parking in Vancouver is insane
 

Always call EMS even if they're dead otherwise you have the cops camped in the house and they have to wait for the coroner to release the body. Hey, there's always a chance....

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Re: Parking in Vancouver is insane
 

Makes total sense, most if not everyone when they encounter an unconscious person would call 9-11 from instinct who would almost certainly send paramedics along with police.

Re: Parking in Vancouver is insane
 

Schnooks, oh I can understand the reason from the deterrence aspect, however, there should be slightly better guidelines around when the fee is applied. For example, if some idiot does call EMS out for a hangnail, they are charged the full fee. When you find your child having a seizure in the middle of the night, and, as to be expected, you're somewhat freaking out, perhaps a charge is unwarranted. I think the term would probably be "if medically necessary".

I do recall some mention of them thinking about introducing a fee in the UK, for exactly the type of situation you mention. I also think stupid calls to 999 / 911 should be subject to a charge as well.

Well, let us hope you don't find yourself in the position of being on the floor unable to respond to someone and people assume you're dead and then pop you in a bodybag, or perhaps just decide to totally cut out the middleman, dig a hole and throw you in it.

As others have said, if you find someone unresponsive, then it's always best to call in the professionals (no, not Bodie and Doyle - they would just drive Cortina through your font room :D ) and let them do their thing.

Re: Parking in Vancouver is insane
 

Bodie and Doyle drove Capris. The Sweeney had Cortinas.

Re: Parking in Vancouver is insane
 

Bodie drove a capir, Ray Doyle drove an Escort RS type thing (silver I recall)

Re: Parking in Vancouver is insane
 

I think it might have been white - its a little embarrassing that we know this.

Re: Parking in Vancouver is insane
 

Regan had a mk1 Granada, Carter had a Cortina.

Re: Parking in Vancouver is insane
 

The Sweeney was a little before my time, so I shall bow to your greater knowledge:)

Re: Parking in Vancouver is insane
 

That Mr 'udson was a man of many talents. :rofl:

Re: Parking in Vancouver is insane
 

The charges are simply a result of ambulance services not being an insured service under the Canada Health Act and so the provinces don't want to fund the full cost from taxes so we end up with the fees which vary a lot across the country depending on how much of the cost the province subsidizes.

BC says they subsidize around 90% of the actual cost which is how they got the $80 fee which is very reasonable.

I'd venture if the provinces could, we would be paying co-pays at the doctor and hospitals as well, and I think we eventually will, or monthly premiums will become more common and higher, we already have monthly premiums in BC for most people, only those making under 30,000 get a subsidized rate.

Re: Parking in Vancouver is insane
 

Just come back from a long weekend in Vancouver. I personally have no idea how or why it gets onto the "Top cities in the world to live" list. I thought it was dirty, flat, roads were a joke, parking was, indeed, extortionate! I know Richmond is strictly speaking a separate city, but that seemed a dump to me too. Downtown was OK, but nothing out of the ordinary. So you can see some hills in the distance - big deal. There's lots of hills in Canada - famous for them. I know the island is considered a bit dull by some, but we couldn't get on the ferry fast enough! Victoria has pretty much everything we need on a general living front.

We did enjoy the $1 breakfast at IKEA though. That was great. You can keep the rest.