A woman has been left “outraged” by a £260 fine she received after collecting her 87-year-old father from a Romford hospital.
Michael Swinyard spent two weeks in Queen’s Hospital earlier this year before being discharged on March 10.
His daughter, Denise Russell, drove to the hospital to collect him.
Unsure of how to get to the discharge lounge, she says she asked staff at the hospital’s main reception for directions.
She claims she followed their instructions and was able to pick her father up and take him home.
But to her shock, ten days later, she was sent two £130 fines by Havering Council for driving through a bus route.
Cameras had picked up her numberplate as she drove towards the discharge lounge, and again as she returned the other way.
The local authority has since dismissed her appeals against the fines, which she told the Romford Recorder she has now paid to avoid them increasing any further.
“I appealed them because I was outraged and there’s been a lack of sympathy,” she said.
“My father had been in a hospital bed for two weeks, so I wanted to get there and get him home quickly.
“I knew there were cameras which is why I asked how to get there. I didn’t go anywhere near the bus area.
“There’s no signage – I know I’m not the first [to be fined] and I don’t think I’ll be the last.”
She has now lodged a formal complaint with Queen’s Hospital, and has an appeal hearing at the London Tribunals next month.
Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs the hospital, declined to comment.
A Havering Council spokesperson said: “We can confirm both penalties have been paid in full, and the cases are now closed.
“We have been notified of a personal hearing at London Tribunals, scheduled for September 1 and can’t comment further at this time.”
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