A fed up student nurse has started a petition to demand more parking for staff at Royal Preston Hospital.

The petition on change.org comes after reports of vandalism to Preston student nurses’ cars made the national news.

The student nurses, who insist they park legally on residential streets, have reported cars being scratched and damage to tyres, as well as verbal abuse from local residents.

One was left with a bill of £300-400 after a cone was wedged beneath her car, while another wrote an angry note pleading with residents to stop the vandalism.

Now student nurse Nadine Mason has started the petition to demand RPH take urgent action to build a multi-storey car park.

The petition states: “The lack of parking at Royal Preston Hospital has been a contentious issue for some time but in recent weeks, with the introduction of a new system, things have come to a head… Staff and residents are helpless, as they are both victims of the refusal from the hospital management to provide adequate resources.”

Read more: What you need to know about Preston hospital parking charges

Speaking to Blog Preston Nadine said: “As a student nurse and bank health care assistant at RPH I can easily spend 65 hours a week at the hospital.

“At present I have to park my car outside houses in nearby streets because the hospital are currently not issuing any parking permits. I always park legally but still feel terrible for doing so.

“Personally I have only had notes left on my windscreen, some more forceful than others. One had even gone to the trouble of laminating theirs. And I have had my car blocked in by cones, which weren’t there beforehand.

“I try to get into and out of my car quickly, so I don’t have to face any confrontation, as I often see residents standing in their window with the curtains open, staring out.  

“It’s a terrible situation but I have no choice. If I am working a long day, I start work at 7am and finish at 9.30pm. I have a half an hour commute each way and a 15 minute walk each way to and from my car. I don’t have the 8 hours sleep that is recommended by the NHS, I barely get 6 hours.

“Being able to park on site would take half an hour off my day, mean I’m not walking around the side streets in the dark and don’t risk having any confrontations after a hard day at work.”

Read more: Confusion over new Royal Preston Hospital parking system

In response to the recent reports Karen Partington, Chief Executive of Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We realise that the parking arrangements at our hospitals are far from ideal and affect our staff as well as cause frustration for local residents, but these sorts of incidents are completely unacceptable.

“Our staff come to work to provide the best possible care for our patients and should not have to deal with damage to their cars or verbal abuse for parking in a nearby street when they return at the end of their shift. We would encourage any of our staff who do encounter this type of behaviour to report such incidents to the Police.

“We have been actively looking to secure more off-site staff parking near our hospitals as well as exploring opportunities for funding to build a multi-storey car park at Royal Preston.”

What do you think of the parking situation at RPH? Will you be signing the petition? Let us know in the comments below.