A row has erupted between an Alzheimer’s group and a doctors’ surgery over the use of its car park.
For 20 years the Alzheimer’s café, which meets once a month, has been able to use Price’s Mill Surgery in Nailsworth to park as part of a goodwill gesture.
But the surgery has now said the car park is for staff and patients only.
“If we can’t park close, because of our age and dementia, we couldn’t come to the cafe,” said Bill Baker, who brings his wife Joyce to the cafe from Westrip.
“I’m prone to falls and we wouldn’t be able to walk any distances, so we’d have to stop coming.
“Joyce really loves it here and I think they’re about the only days she remembers,” added Bill.
Now cafe volunteers have presented a petition of nearly 150 names to the Partners of Price’s Mill NHS Surgery in a last ditch plea for permission to continue using the car park.
Café host Richard Burt said numbers had fallen since Price’s Mill ended their goodwill agreement in January, but the car park has remained half empty every month since.
Richard said: “After 20 years of our goodwill agreement, and without any direct communication, Partners caused consternation at our January café by posting yellow stickers on café attendees’ windscreens warning them not to park in the surgery car park.
“They have since turned down an offer by us to issue and even pay for a limited number of agreed parking permits for our most vulnerable attendees, saying parking has been abused by others. But each month the car park has remained half empty during our cafe afternoon and our regular numbers have fallen by nearly half because of the lack of on-road parking – people are just too anxious about not being able to park close by.”
Nailsworth Town Council, Dementia Action Alliance, County Councillor Steve Robinson and Stroud MP Dr Simon Opher MBE, a former GP with 30 years experience, have all called on the surgery to reconsider their decision.
“We have not spoken to a single person from the community who has not been supportive of our calls,” added Richard.
“We are all in the same boat, working for the health and wellbeing of those living with dementia and their loved ones.”
In a statement, Price’s Mill Surgery said: “It was absolutely not our intention to adversely affect the number of attendees at the dementia café, the practice car park needs to be fully available to our patients and staff.
“There is other free public parking available throughout Nailsworth.”
