I am worried about parking and parking costs

Hospital parking can be expensive and it can be hard to find a space. There may be some options to help reduce this cost depending on which hospital you are in. Find out more below.

Or take a step back to explore other travel and parking issues.

Free or reduced hospital parking

Some hospitals offer reduced or free parking if your baby is on the neonatal unit.

You could try asking a member of staff on the unit - they will be used to these types of questions. If they don't know they may be able to suggest someone who might be able to help.

Some hospitals are not able to provide free or reduced parking. We understand this can feel very frustrating.

It also varies from each hospital so it is good to check if your child moves to a different hospital.

If you need further information and support you could try asking Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS). This is an unbiased and confidential service in every hospital that offers support to patients and their families. You can usually find signs for this department near the reception in each hospital, or their phone number on the hospital’s website.

What if there is no free parking or reduced parking costs are not available?

There are some other options to consider which could reduce costs. There is more information about these further down this page.

We know some or all of these won’t be practical or available to everyone. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the costs of parking and the logistics of getting to hospital you can get in touch with us for further support.

There might be other places locally which offer cheaper parking within a short walk to the hospital. It can be worth exploring this yourself or you could ask someone you trust to look into it for you.

Other options for getting to hospital

If public transport options are available and cheap enough you might be able to consider alternating between driving and using public transport. Take a look at our information on public transport for some suggestions on how to save money if this is an option for you.

You might have a close family member or friend who could give you a lift. For some people this might be someone from their local community or faith group. We understand that it can be difficult to ask for this help but often people want to support you but don’t know what is most useful. You might find people are happy to do this for you.

Depending on how close you are to hospital and your personal situation, you might want to consider walking. It’s a personal choice whether it would help, but walking can be very beneficial both for physical and mental health.

Do you need help with something else?