Irate Mayor misses appointment after hospital car park chaos

Coun. Jean Cunningham, who represents Hapton with Park, missed a hospital appointment when she spent an hour trying to park.

Roads within the hospital grounds are undergoing improvement work, however, Coun. Cunningham said it was “absolutely ludicrous” that a she could not find a space, despite turning up at 1pm for a 2pm appointment.

She now has to wait another six weeks for her appointment.

Coun. Cunningham said: “It was absolutely horrendous and so frustrating to miss an appointment you turned up an hour early for. I was irate and it wasn’t just me.

“I didn’t know Area Seven where my appointment was so I thought I’d get there early so I could have a brew.

“I was driving around for 45 minutes. All the car parks were jam packed full so I decided to sit and wait for a space. It got to ten minutes until my appointment and I rang to say I was sat facing the door but couldn’t get parked.

“The man on the phone said they didn’t know about the works until Tuesday. If I’d have known, I’d have parked at my daughter’s business and asked her to drop me off.

“With my blue badge I could have left it on the yellow lines. But all the lines are red and I didn’t know what they meant and there was nobody around to ask.”

Martin Morgan, Director of Estates and Facilities at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “The works in front of Area Seven at Burnley General Hospital are necessary to repair the uneven road surface and will be completed in five days.

“Throughout this week, staff from the Trust‘s Estates Department and our contractor Cofely have been assisting patients and visitors during the works and have not reported any delay, problem or complaint. The works are on schedule to finish by Friday, 24th July.

“We apologise to Coun. Cunningham or any visitor to Burnley General Hospital for any inconvenience caused by the repair and improvement of our facilities which are taking place for the benefit of patients, visitors and staff.”