Columnists
Paying the piper
We’re home. The first order of business was to empty the suitcases, do the travel laundry, grocery shop and remember there’s a couple of new traffic signs on our street. Oops! On top of the sort, store, stop ‘n’ go, jet lag and re-entry issues, my family doctor ordered some diagnostic tests at BGH. So, on Saturday morning, bright and early, LOML and I headed up to Belleville. While pulling into the parking lot and collecting the parking chit, I was reminded of a day in 1976.
It was late fall of 1976, my friend Wendy needed to have a prenatal ultrasound. She felt uncomfortable getting behind the wheel, so I offered to provide taxi service. Our mission included us, the two moms, three youngsters (two hers, one mine) and a promise to visit McDonald’s if everyone could behave for an hour while the ultrasound was being done. Our hubbies were young teachers, at the time, and getting time off for a spouse’s medical test was out of the question with the former board of education. Wendy and I had about six dollars between us, for the excursion. Not enough for a babysitter and just about the right amount for fries and drinks after. We arrived at BGH and, to our horror, the parking wasn’t free. If the test went over an hour we wouldn’t have enough money for the the treats. I parked the car in the hospital lot anyway, and with a furrowed brow, Wendy took off for her appointment. The boys and I played in the green space behind the hospital. When mom-to-be emerged from the hospital we had a quick huddle to decide how to handle the parking/money/treat situation. We opted for a parking felony and a trip to McDonald’s. So, rather than drive through the exit gate and deposit our limited cash, we figured the truckster could handle a bit of curb and lawn. And so it did. We bypassed the pay gate and drove across the lawn and back onto the exit road. The little fellas got their “Donalds” fries and, without too many tears, shared a pop, while we, the moms, shared a burger and laughed about our daring deed. We were certain the police would be knocking at our door to collect one of us to “pay-the-piper”.
But instead of laughing at our cunning, we should have been angry about having to pay for parking at a hospital in the first place. Over the years since that adventure, LOML and I have paid hospital parking fees on many occasions. We’ve shelled out outrageous amounts of money to park while visiting family and friends, while one or the other of us was undergoing medical procedures or diagnostics. Many times the bill for parking in the hospital lots were in excess of $20 and often a lot more if we had to park longer than a day. So, what’s my point? Well, I do have a point and it’s simply, don’t charge for parking at hospitals or other public health care facilities. It’s just all kinds of wrong. And I don’t give a rip if hospital parking is a source of income. And I know the cost of parking at hospitals has been capped by the 2016 Directive, but there are still people who can’t afford to pay (even a small amount) and those folks are often forced to find off-site parking and risk a ticket or the expense of towing. There has to be a kinder way to raise funds than to prey upon patients and their families.
On Saturday, after my diagnostic test at BGH, we were faced with the parking payment machine. The cost of parking isn’t really an issue for us. However, there was a rather distraught woman ahead of us who was clearly dismayed about how to pay. How much she had to pay that day and how much she would have to pay if her grandson stayed in the hospital much longer was clearly a concern. She eventually dug around, pulled out a credit card and paid up. She shouldn’t have had to add the cost of parking, at a public hospital, to her worries. Yeah, yeah, it’s tax deductible if you’re the patient, but seriously, when you’re upset about where you are, do you even remember to keep those little “paid” slips? Come on Ontario, you can do better than gouge. It’s not a matter of lost income, it’s a matter of principle.
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