Concerns have been raised about the “over zealous” enforcement of parking restrictions at Aintree Hospital
06:30, 27 Mar 2026
Stephen O’Rourke near where he was parked in Aintree University Hospital car park(Image: Liverpool Echo)
A man frantic with worry about his desperately ill wife, was issued with a parking fine after rushing to visit her at their local A&E department. Stephen O’Rourke, 56, has called the parking enforcement rules at Aintree Hospital ‘deeply inhumane’ and believes it’s far too focused on making money, rather than the convenience of visitors.
The Liverpool ECHO has seen a photograph, provided by hospital management, which appears to show Mr O’Rourke’s car over – or just outside – the designated line for the parking bay. Mr O’Rourke was issued a parking charge on Monday March 16, with the notice citing a specific breach of the parking rules: “Not parked correctly within the markings of a bay or space.”
Mr O’Rourke, from Fazakerley, acknowledges he may not have acted to the ‘letter of the law’, but said it’s important to consider the circumstances at the time, he said: “In their eyes I’m bang to rights, but I’m speaking out on this for myself and for loads of other people who have been caught in what can only be described as a deeply inhumane system.”
Mr O’Rourke detailed what happened on the day of his wife’s hospital admission. He told us she had suffered a fall, breaking her hip in the process, and was subsequently diagnosed with sepsis.
Mr O’Rourke said: “I was in and out of the hospital, going back and forth, and very worried and distressed about my wife. Due to the situation of getting her into a ward, I was waiting in there for about 24 straight hours at first, before I went home to pick some things up and see if I could get a little sleep.
Stephen O’Rourke near where he was parked in Aintree University Hospital car park(Image: Liverpool Echo)
“I park as close as I can to the entrance to the hospital and use my blue badge due to my disability, and I also have heart failure and respiratory problems. After going home, I’d gone back to the hospital, parked my car, not obstructing anyone or anywhere. “
Mr O’Rourke said he came out of the hospital and saw he had a ticket, and also noticed other cars parked in the disabled bays with tickets, he said: “It just seems like the first thought is ‘how do we make money from these parking bays’ rather than, how can we make this as easy as possible for people to visit and make it stress free’.
“I think it is totally unfair. You’ve got people coming in with life-threatening injuries or illnesses, people with appointments for cancer and the like, or people visiting dying relatives and they are falling foul of these parking restrictions which are too black and white.
“Even if they’ve not kept to the letter of the law so to speak, can you really blame people? Maybe they have other things going on in their mind besides whether they’ve paid the right amount or got the right tickets or whether they’ve parked a few millimetres over a bay line. It just doesn’t sit right.”
Another potential problem identified by Mr O’Rourke is the issue of wait times at A&E departments, he added: “You buy a ticket but then you’re waiting 24, 36, 42 hours before a proper bed is found, so what happens when their ticket runs out?
“You’re effectively putting yourself at risk of a fine because of the massive delays. That’s no criticism of the nurses or doctors by the way because they are all brilliant and they work miracles, but they’re in a system which is breaking at the seams, and the hospital is always very busy.
“We’re always being told to try and make it to A&E ourselves and you hear plenty of stories of people waiting for an ambulances or waiting in ambulances when you get to hospital.
Stephen O’Rourke with his blue badge near where he was parked in Aintree University Hospital car park(Image: Liverpool Echo)
“When you do turn up in your car, there’s hardly any available parking spaces, especially for disabled people, and then you’re supposed to be paying during the whole time you’re there because of the huge delays.
“Should we be paying to park for four hours? Eight hours? 36 hours? Who knows.”
The ECHO put these points to the hospital’s management, and in response, the executive managing director (EMD) of Aintree University Hospital, Peter Turkington told us: “If patients or visitors are delayed and waiting a long period of time, they can speak to our clinical teams so we can address the parking payment. We always aim to take individual circumstances into account.”
However, Stephen said: “I’ve never heard of that, and I’ve certainly not seen any signage or information confirming that.
“The clinical team are rushed off their feet trying to save people’s lives, so do they really have enough time to be dealing with people’s parking problems?
“The parking enforcers are just overzealous and there seems very little understanding or appreciation of the reasons why people are there and some of the complications that come with that. It’s just ‘these are the rules and that’s it’.
In relation to the wider issues raised about parking enforcement and fees, the hospital’s EMD, Mr Turkington added: “We are sorry to hear that this has been Mr O’Rourke’s experience while visiting his wife, we know it can be a worrying time for relatives when visiting patients in our care.
“As a busy hospital we have hundreds of patients, visitors and staff visiting daily. We need to ensure the safety of everyone who uses our site and that people are parking responsibly so that everyone can make full use of the car parking spaces we have available, which includes 164 disabled bays.
“Parking on our site is managed proactively using patrols and signage to encourage drivers to park without compromising the safety of others, with enforcement measures being used when required.”