A has spoken out about the heartbreak of receiving a parking ticket while she was providing care to a terminally ill patient in Solihull.
The nurse, who is also a full-time single mum on , was parked on double yellow lines outside the patient's home when she received the initial £70 fine.
Despite her appeal and her manager's intervention, Solihull Council rejected it, stating that proof was needed to corroborate the circumstances from May last year and that she had missed the 28-day notice period for an appeal. The costs have now escalated into hundreds as the council has initiated statutory legal proceedings to collect the penalty.
The nurse, aged 45 and choosing to remain anonymous, said: "I was given this fine because I was parked outside a terminally ill and actively dying patient's house in Solihull. This patient was agitated due to needing some anticipatory medication. Before we could get the medication in her, we had to try and keep her still long enough for the district nurse to inject her."
She added: "It took a couple of hours for us to calm her enough. We obviously don't mind being hit or scratched by somebody who's suffering and needs help, but when you come out of a patient's home exhausted and emotional to find a ticket on your car - it's just soul-destroying."
The nurse said: "I cannot afford to pay this fine. The has stopped the wear and tear on our cars, and we don't earn much money. I'm on Universal Credit as well as working and being a full-time single mum. The thought of having to go to court and possibly having bailiffs coming to my house scares me. Although they wouldn't be able to take much. The car is leased and most of my furniture is second hand, or from Temu," reports .
The council later cancelled the fine upon learning the full details of her situation. The nurse also urged for more leniency in parking regulations for healthcare workers, saying: "The government wants more nursing care in the community then they should support us by being able to get to these patients without fear that we'll be ticketed. The same goes for carers who need to see our patients daily."
She discovered that while some councils offer parking permits, it's not a uniform practice, adding, "I have found out that some councils do give a parking permit, but it's at the council's discretion. Shirley has a lot of red routes and double yellow lines which I understand that traffic is a nightmare and they'd rather commuters use public transportation.
"However, this doesn't help me or others in the community and if the Government wants more hospital care to be carried out in the community for district nurses, doctors and carers then we need the support from the local council."
A spokesperson for Solihull Council said to BirminghamLive: "We were not made aware of the full situation with Vicky's patient at the time the penalty charge notice (PCN) was issued. When we asked her for proof to corroborate the circumstances, this was not provided until over a year later. As such, the statutory legal process was underway.
"Now that the full circumstances have been brought to our attention, out of goodwill we will cancel the PCN on this occasion. We would urge motorists who find themselves needing to appeal a PCN, to ensure they follow the correct process and within the specified timeframes."
