A FRUSTRATED patient has hit out at Colchester Hospital after he was left without a vital hospital check-up... because he could not find a parking space.

Michael Slaughter, 35, has hit out at the parking situation at Colchester Hospital after he missed an follow-up appointment to check how he was recovering from surgery.

Mr Slaughter arrived at the hospital half an hour before his scheduled appointment, to secure a parking space.

But he was dismayed when he saw a queue to enter the car park.

After eventually getting into the car park, Mr Slaughter and what he estimates to be between 20 to 30 other cars were circling the car park, looking for any space which might become available.

Gazette:

Mr Slaughter said: “Colchester Hospital parking is woefully inadequate, I have missed two appointments from trying to park.

“I called my doctor's secretary and was told can I go park in a side road, all of which are residential parking areas so I could make my appointment but risk a £60 parking fine.

“Why isn’t the hospital doing anything about this?”

Fiona Sparrow, associate director of facilities for East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Colchester Hospital, said: “We’re very sorry to hear about this experience and understand the frustration.

“There are more and more people attending our hospitals each day and car parking does become very busy at peak times.

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“We try to manage it as best we can by looking for ways to provide as many spaces as possible on our site but also by asking people to use alternative transport if they are able to do so.  

“There are a number of bus services which stop at the site, including the nearby Park and Ride which also stops at the train station.

“Patients from further away in the Tendring area can also use the Colchester Hospital Hopper service which is run by Tendring Community Transport and runs a number of trips throughout the day including at weekends.”