Letter to East Kent Gazette

Written by David Spurling on Wed 16th Dec 2009

I note with interest Angela Harrison's comments about parking charges at hospitals. Has she considered the problems of people who do not have cars in the first place? It is difficult to get information about the local bus services. Kent county council no longer publish a comprehensive timetable for Sittingbourne or Sheppey which they did at one stage and which would be helpful now since it often requires more than one operator to get to say Medway hospital and individual operator's timetables do not show this.

While if the people are elderly they will get free travel if they are travelling off peak (but may take a very long time to get there) younger poorer people will have to pay fares which can seem quite large.

In some cases as with the newer hospitals near Tunbridge Wells it seems to have been located in a place which is not convenient for non car owners and at times when people are ill even car owners may not necessarily be in a position to drive