Northampton General Hospital says fault with its car park system that wrongly issued fines to disabled patients has now been fixed

It comes after this newspaper reported earlier this month that blue badge holders had received penalty charge notices (PCNs) despite entering their details correctly. Following publication, more people contacted the Chronicle & Echo to say they had also been affected, including some who do not hold blue badges. Some patients without blue badges have also claimed they were wrongly fined, although NGH has not yet responded to these concerns.

Director of facilities and estates at the hospital, Rob Drabble, said: “We are investigating a technical issue with our ANPR system and the way it cross matches with our blue badge registrations. We apologise to all any parking customers who may have received a parking notice in error.

“Anyone with a blue badge who has been affected by this issue can contact us about their parking notice on [email protected] and it will be cancelled. Please include the PCN number, car registration and blue badge details.”

NGH’s Head of Hotel Services, Ian Howson, has since confirmed the issue has now been resolved. He said: “The Trust has investigated a technical issue with our ANPR system and how it cross-matches with blue badge registrations in the main hospital car parks. We are pleased to confirm that this issue has now been resolved.

“We apologise to any parking customers who may have received a parking notice in error. If you hold a blue badge and have been affected, please contact us at [email protected] with your PCN number, car registration, and blue badge details. Your parking notice will be reviewed and cancelled if appropriate.”

Earlier this month, two disabled users told this newspaper they had incorrectly been fined while visiting relatives at NGH. Paul Muddiman, 54, who has MS, said he and his brother had both received multiple PCNs since August despite paying correctly. Another patient, Nichola Joynes, said she too had received tickets even though she entered her blue badge details as instructed.

Dozens of people could potentially have been affected by the fault. The fines are set at £60 but are reduced to £40 if paid within 14 days.

However, since the initial story was published, another patient has come forward to say they were fined while parking at the Highfield Clinic, which is managed separately by Parkingeye. The blue badge holder said that after their appointment the payment machine showed “nothing to pay.” They took a photo of the screen, but Parkingeye has refused to cancel the fine and is now threatening court action.

The patient, who attended NGH for a breast cancer screening on June 3, 2025, said the experience caused significant stress. When they contacted the hospital, they were told NGH could not help because the Highfield car park is run independently by Parkingeye.

A Parkingeye spokesperson said: “Blue Badge holders are subject to the same terms and conditions of other motorists using each of the car parks. Each car park has guidance for Blue Badge holders displayed on the prominent signage.

“Parkingeye operates a BPA (British Parking Association) audited appeals process, which motorists can use to appeal their parking charge. If anyone has mitigating circumstances for breaking the rules of the car park, we would encourage them to highlight this by appealing and providing suitable evidence.”