Pharmacy delivery van persistently taking disabled parking spot

Pharmacy van takes disabled parking spot at The Hub Wellfield Pharmacy on Oldham Road

A patient at Wellfield Health Centre has, on a number of occasions, been unable to park in the disabled bays due to The Hub Wellfield Pharmacy delivery vehicle being parked in a disabled bay.

The patient spoke to pharmacy staff on Tuesday morning (25 September) and was told the van was parked overnight in the disabled bay, "due to the van previously being vandalised and the bay being covered by CCTV". The patient was also told, "the van is removed each day at 1.00pm". However, surgery starts at 8.30am, which would mean the disabled bay being blocked for four and a half hours until early afternoon.

The patient, who uses a wheelchair, said this was the third time this had happened and today he had to park in a normal bay. On his return, he could not get into his car because another car was parked in the next bay, and with the non-disabled bays being narrorwer there was not enough room for his wheelchair.

A spokesperson for The Hub Wellfield Pharmacy said: “Wellfield Pharmacy wish to sincerely apologise to all patients who have been affected by the company van being parked in a disabled space.

“Following a break in and a recent act of vandalism, our delivery drivers had been instructed to park the van, so it could be picked up by CCTV overnight.

“They were expected to move this van in the morning before the arrival of patients to morning surgery.

“We are currently investigating how this misunderstanding could have happened and deeply regret that this incident occurred, inconveniencing and making life unnecessarily difficult for our patients who require access to this parking space.”