Blue Badge holders have been warned by hospitals in Oxford after some patients were slammed with fines after a new parking system was installed.
The new parking system which was installed in July 2021, has caused blue badge holders to be fined when parking at the John Radcliffe hospital (JR) and the Churchill.
Oxford University Hospitals (OUH) uses an automatic number-plate recognition (ANPR) parking system that does not recognise blue badges; however, people with blue badges are able to register for free parking.
Brain Ealey from Witney, was handed a £50 fine after parking at the JR using his blue badge.
Mr Ealey was left feeling frustrated as he did not think he had committed an offence and he made a complaint to the parking company SIP.
When Mr Ealey received the fine he said: "I do not know what else I can do. I don't understand why anyone would need anything other than the evidence of your blue badge."
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Since, Mr Ealey has received an apology from parking company SIP to say they were "extremely sorry" and agreed he was displaying a blue badge and cancelled the fine.
He is now in the process of registering his blue badge so he can park for free.
Sara Perrin, who has been undergoing treatment for breast cancer since September 2020, received six parking tickets for parking at the Churchill hospital.
She explained that she had been using the car park at the hospital with no problems until November 2021, when she received six parking tickets.
Mrs Perrin has appealed the parking tickets, but felt the process was hard.
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She explained that on the parking fine it stated people were able to appeal the fines in writing. However, due to the cancer treatment Mrs Perrin finds writing difficult because the chemotherapy has made it hard for her to use her fingers and it has affected her concentration. Eventually, Mrs Perrin was helped by the cancer centre at the hospital who gave her an email address to dispute the fines.
A spokesperson from OUH said: "Since July 2021, we have been using ANPR to manage our car parks at the John Radcliffe and Churchill hospitals. ANPR systems do not recognise blue badges, but we have put a system in place for blue badge holders so they can register for free parking in general car parks as well as providing dedicated car parks just for blue badge holders. This process is outlined on our website and on signs around our car parks.
"We understand that a visit to hospital can be stressful and people may miss these instructions. However, anyone who appeals a blue badge decision is referred straight to our Transport department, who will help resolve the issue."
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