NSW hospital parking: Western Sydney residents pay the highest fees

Public hospital parking is one of the biggest stressors for visitors and patients. These are the NSW residents being hit hardest by high fees, with some paying up to $20 for 90 minutes. See the list.

Attending a hospital emergency department can be a stressful experience – even more so because of the nightmare of finding parking in or near our state’s hospitals.

Despite NSW residents paying almost $50 million in hospital parking fees in the past financial year — with our western Sydney residents hit the most — the vexed problem of parking remains high on the list of patient and visitor gripes.

NSW Opposition health spokesman Ryan Park called on the Berejiklian Government to overhaul hospital car parking fees which “amount to a tax on sick people and their families”.

The Daily Telegraph has analysed emergency department patient survey data held by government agencies to show you where the worst parking nightmares are.

Parking entry at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead.

Liverpool Hospital, in the congested southwest of Sydney, leads the pack, with 74 per cent of patients and relatives saying there’s a problem. Almost 42 per cent described it “as a big problem”.

According to resident Mary Felgate, who’s visited many times, Liverpool’s drop off and pick up area is often a “shambles” and “an accident waiting to happen”.

“For a private company to make profits from hospital parking seems very wrong,” she said.

Surprisingly, the second worst ranked was Port Macquarie Hospital, with 69 per cent say they have trouble getting a spot, closely followed by Bankstown Hospital on 66 per cent.

Other parking nightmares can be found in hospitals at Wollongong (65 per cent), Campbelltown and Nowra (64 per cent), Gosford (62 per cent), Goulburn (61 per cent) and Royal Prince Alfred (56 per cent).

At the other end of the scale, Byron’s Central Hospital had a minuscule two per cent complaining — although it had a small sample size in the survey — followed by South East Regional, in Bega, with a three per cent problem and Gunnedah, on five per cent.

St George Hospital, Kogarah where parking fees are as high as $20.70 for just one hour and a half. Picture: Flavio Brancaleone.

We are also paying through the nose for parking, with patients and their families slugged by steep fees – as high as $20.70 for just one hour and a half at a suburban hospitals like St George at Kogarah.

Car parking fees at our public hospitals produced a staggering $46.2 million windfall for the NSW State Government in the 12 months to July last year.

While it was not a record – that was set the year before at $50.09 million – it still much higher than the $17 million raked in a decade ago.

All the money collected is spent solely on health, with the Berejiklian Government spending up big on huge new carparks, including $72 million at Westmead, $34 million at Campbelltown and $35 million at Gosford.

NSW ALP Opposition Health spokesman Ryan Park. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Steven Saphore

When six-year-old Mackenzie Sipou was having an epileptic seizure, mum Kayla says parking at Liverpool Hospital was the last thing on her mind.

“She was having a seizure in the car and I was already driving, and I had my son with me at the time who was only a couple months old,” Mrs Sipou said.

“And there was absolutely no parking underground or even out the front so I was forced to pull up in their emergency stop, but they told me that I had to move.

Kayla Sipou and her 3 week old daughter Rosadia. Picture: Tim Hunter.

“I then just parked up in a five minute zone and took her inside.”

She ended up staying at the hospital for six or seven hours and when she came she discovered she’d been fined.

Luckily she was able to fight it, but found the whole ordeal stressful.

But it’s the residents of the west and south west of Sydney who are stung by hospital car park fees the most, despite inner city and CBD parking being at a premium.

Parking fees are a bugbear. Liverpool Hospital. Picture: Tim Hunter.

Western Sydney Area Health Service reaped a massive $12.1 million last year, more than any other health service. South Western Area Health Service alone took in $7.8 million.

Liverpool Hospital carpark. Picture: Tim Hunter.

“The reality is people are already stressed enough if they are a patient or a family member of someone receiving treatment and the last thing they can afford is a whopping bill just for parking at the hospital,” he said.

The Central Coast District for example, made $593,000 in revenue from parking in 2018 – but a year later this had climbed to $1.03 million and last year came in at $2.7 million.