NHS hospital under fire over 'out of the blue' new rules for EV drivers

An NHS hospital has turned away an electric vehicle driver amid fears his car would BLOW UP. Paul Freeman-Powell claimed he was told to park outside of the parking structure over fears that "the battery will react with the metal car park and it might catch fire/explode".

The father said he tried to tell the security guard that the hospital's policy did not make sense, the BBC reported. FairCharge, a leading campaign group for electric vehicles, took to social media to criticise the parking rules, saying: "Misinformation erroneously shaping public policy again."

Speaking to the ECHO, Paul said: "We had waited nearly five years for the appointment and did not want to miss it. The letter we got sent does not say electric cars can't park there. It was completely out of the blue.

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"We had also fought through rush hour traffic. The letter said if we didn't come to the appointment then we would get discharged." A spokesperson for the hospital told the BBC that it had taken advice from Merseyside Fire and Rescue.

It added that it had "temporarily restricted the parking of electric vehicles in one of our smaller car parks while we upgrade its fire sprinkler system. Electric vehicles are still able to park in our main Hospital car park."

Quentin Willson, founder of the FairCharge campaign, said the decision to restrict EVs "dramatically conflicts" with clean air benefits and net zero targets. Colin Walker, head of transport at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, referenced data from the Australian body EV FireSafe, which found petrol cars were 80 times more likely than electric vehicles to start a fire.

He said: “It’s important that drivers understand the relative risks." Paul was told to park on grass nearby after arriving with with wife Rachel for an appointment for his son Joshua on Wednesday, May 1. The seven-year-old's appointment was not in the main building but on the children’s health campus.