- ITV Report
NHS staff lose parking charge court case
Doctors and nurses have been ordered to pay almost £70,000 in a row about parking tickets at their busy NHS hospital.
Seventy-five NHS staff lost a court battle - leaving them owing thousands of pounds in the unpaid tickets and fines.
A judge ruled a private parking contractor can collect all unpaid tickets plus fines for staff who parked illegally at Wales' biggest hospital.Workers at the University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, say they have been left "broken" by the order, with some quitting their jobs.
The judgement means each health worker must pay an average of £900 - but for many it will go into the thousands.
The ruling by District Judge Clare Coates comes after a three day trial at Cardiff Civil Justice Centre.
The case involved three workers Stephen Dadswell, Emily Booth and Sophie Round - who parking contractor Indigo say have each racked up more than 100 parking tickets.
But the three NHS workers are part of a larger group of workers with unpaid tickets - and the hearing was seen as a test case for other staff who have also failed to pay.
Judge Coates' ruling means each unpaid ticket can be collected for £128 - amounting to a total of £39,000.
She also ordered the group will have to pay £29,000 costs. Speaking after the judgement, healthcare support worker Sophie Round, said: "I am gutted."
"It's not really the outcome that we wanted and what we earn doesn't really cover the fines."
Robert O'Brien, 35, quit his hospital job earlier this year when he was hit with almost £800 in fines from contractor Indigo, he now works as a salesman.
The spokesman said the court action was taken against "persistent offenders" who flout parking rules.
"As the company responsible for managing parking and ensuring the free flow of traffic at Cardiff UHW, we have an obligation to ensure enforcement of parking restrictions," the spokeswoman said.
"For this reason, and with the full support of the health board, we took the strongest possible action against this small group of persistent offenders."
"The court's ruling has justified our decision to take this action and we hope this sends a clear message to users of the car parks at Cardiff UHW that they follow the terms and conditions for parking."