‘I work for your NHS for free – stop vandalising my car!’: Student nurse, 22, in plea to locals after repeated attacks when staff leave vehicles near hospital to avoid parking charges
- The nurse, 22, is currently working at the Royal Preston Hospital in Lancashire
- She left an emotive note saying she couldn’t afford a parking permit
- Vandals have been slashing tyres and damaging cars left in the streets nearby
A fed up student nurse has been forced to place a handwritten note on her windscreen after her car was vandalised.
In the note, the 22-year-old who is on placement at Royal Preston Hospital, begs local residents to stop vandalising her car.
This comes after she was parked legally in Heversham Avenue last week.
She expresses how she cannot afford to pay for parking, even if she was eligible for a permit – which she is not.
The distressed student nurse left an emotional letter on her car in which she said she couldn’t afford a permit
The note was later posted on social media and sparked a flurry of comments from NHS staff, reporting similar abuse, from verbal attacks to criminal damage.
The note read: ‘I am a student. I work 37.5 hours a week for YOUR NHS for FREE.
‘I cannot afford a permit because of this. I am legally parked. Please do not vandalise my car again!’
This revelation has prompted other student nurses to speak up
Many reported cars being scratched, tyres let down and in some cases completely slashed.
Another student nurse was left facing a bill between £300 – £400 after a cone was forcefully wedged underneath her car.
The cone ripped the car and she was required to take it to the garage for a ‘patch up’ as she couldn’t afford full repairs.
A car parked near the hospital with cones on top, despite being parked legally on the street
Student nurses are not granted parking passes from the hospital and therefore cannot park onsite.
Dr Ivan McGlen, Principal Lecturer in Adult Nursing at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan), said: ‘Every year, thousands of our nursing students add vital staffing resources to the NHS through a wide range of placements at a variety of medical institutions.
‘They adhere to the same rules as staff, so we encourage them to explore all the travel options for getting to work, including purchasing car parking permits and using public transport.
Cars have reportedly been scratched, tyres let down and in some cases wheels slashed
‘We wholeheartedly do not condone the recent car damage and would encourage our student to report the crime to the police.’
Lancashire County Council have recently announced that certain residential roads near to the hospital will soon have parking restrictions implemented.
This follows a series of complaints from residents in the Fulwood area that staff, patients and visitors to the Royal Preston Hospital are parking in unsuitable locations including residential cul-de-sacs.
Karen Partington, Chief Executive of Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: ‘We realise that the parking arrangements at our hospitals are far from ideal and affect our staff as well as cause frustration for local residents, but these sorts of incidents are completely unacceptable.
‘Our staff come to work to provide the best possible care for our patients and should not have to deal with damage to their cars or verbal abuse for parking in a nearby street when they return at the end of their shift. We would encourage any of our staff who do encounter this type of behaviour to report such incidents to the Police.
‘We have been actively looking to secure more off-site staff parking near our hospitals as well as exploring opportunities for funding to build a multi-storey car park at Royal Preston.’