Parking pain at UHWI - Car park fees adding to patients’ suffering

The simple act of parking at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) is becoming a financial burden for patients and caregivers already grappling with the emotional and monetary toll of illness.

With a new per-hour parking system now in place, visitors say they're being forced to shell out as much as $1,000 per day -thanks to long wait times, repeat visits, and urgent emergencies that make it nearly impossible to avoid the maximum fee.

Under the new fee structure, parking costs $250 for up to one hour, $500 for up to two hours, $750 for up to three hours, and $1,000 for four hours or more.

The daily rate is capped at $1,000. However, many say their hospital visits often exceed the lower time brackets, leaving the maximum fee as the default.

Joy*, a mother whose son is being treated for a mesenteric mass - an abdominal growth requiring frequent visits - says she has already spent thousands just on parking.

"Mi come here so often, mi know mi going pass three hours. So mi just bring at least $1,000 every time," she told THE WEEKEND STAR. "It's like an indictment because yuh drive."

In March, Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton officially opened the new car park, describing it as the first major milestone under Phase 1 of the UHWI Redevelopment and Modernisation Project.

"About 2,000 cars pass through these premises every day," he said.

But for Joy, the new system feels like a heavy burden, not a milestone.

"This isn't about care any more, it's business," she fumed. "To be sick in Jamaica is more expensive than living," she added.

Before the new structure was built, parking on hospital grounds was free, though theft had been a major concern. Now, Joy says there's no affordable alternative.

"Last week mi ask a security, 'What if mi nuh have the money?' She seh, 'The ATM deh up the top,' like yuh affi have money. This is seven times I come since last week -- that's $7,000 gone just for parking," she said, noting that medical wait times are often unbearably long.

Other visitors shared similar frustrations. One woman, who came on a Sunday to visit her dying uncle, said the lot was full and people were confused and distressed.

"People so frustrated, we never even realise what was happening. And the lot was full," she recalled.

Some motorists, desperate for space, began parking on grassy areas clearly marked 'No Parking'. Others questioned whether the service matched the cost.

"You give us paid parking but no guarantee of safety or speed. You're forcing us to pay and still asking us to wait five, six hours? That's crazy," one visitor said.

Around midday on Tuesday, a woman who had been at the hospital since 6 a.m. was told she would be charged $1,000 -- a routine fee for anyone forced to wait hours for care.

"If you go to private hospitals, parking is free. But here, every visit feels like a fund-raiser for the next building project," she said.

A man, who turned up to collect a medical record, said he was caught off guard by the charges.

"Mi go inside and nobody at the desk. So right away, mi realise mi affi pay, even though mi just come fi collect one paper."

He suggested a more affordable rate.

"This is a semi-public institution. People come here because dem sick or dem family sick. Yuh can't charge dem like it's a shopping plaza."

Despite repeated attempts by THE WEEKEND STAR, the hospital did not respond to queries by press time on Wednesday.