A terminally-ill cancer patient was left trapped in a hospital car park for 40 minutes while an attendant finished his curry.
Outraged Colin Day, 69, who has months to live, was leaving the hospital with his wife Jaki after a gruelling course of radiotherapy when they found themselves trapped.
The couple had accidentally parked in a staff only area at Cheltenham General Hospital, Glos and the barrier would not lift to free them.
Desperate Jaki pleaded with staff to raise the barrier but was told they would have to wait in the cold until one staff member had finished his curry.
Jaki, 67, who was driving, said: “I told the two gentlemen in the parking booth that my husband had just had radiotherapy and that it was important that I got him home as soon as possible so he could rest.
“I could see that one of the men was eating his lunch and the other told me that he couldn’t help because he was on his own and that we would have to wait.
“I pleaded with him but he said that he couldn’t help. I turned around and went back to the car where I turned up the heating and we waited for 40 minutes.”
The hospital’s car park is run by independent contractor Vinci Park UK. A spokesman said: “On January 23 a member of the public accidentally parked in a clearly signposted staff car park and was prevented from leaving by the area’s security measures.
“On establishing it was a genuine error, parking staff raised the barrier and allowed the vehicle to leave.”
Colin has Mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer, which develops from protective cells that line the body’s internal organs.
Jaki added: “He is dying. We know he isn’t going to be cured. But I want it to be as easy and as comfortable as possible for him.
“I am facing the fact that my husband is going to pass away and leave me alone. He deserves more and human kindness and consideration costs absolutely nothing.”
