A specialist at Mater Dei Hospital had his car clamped a month ago but is refusing to pay the fee to release his vehicle in protest at the lack of parking available for doctors at the state hospital. 

The specialist anaesthetist, who preferred not to be named when contacted, said that, about a month ago, he went to work at Mater Dei but could not find parking, as happened very often. So, in order to get to work on time, he parked his car along a pavement near a zebra crossing.

His car has a permit to park in the hospital’s reserved areas – which, he said, are always full – and a separate permit to park in restricted areas.

At the end of his workday he went to find that his car had been clamped and he had to pay €80 to release it.

“I’m not the first. Many of my colleagues have had their cars clamped more than once,” he said.

Seeking legal advice

“It’s been a month now and I’ve been using my wife’s car to go to work. But I do not want to pay it because I believe they don’t have the right to clamp our cars. All too often, people are rushed and pay the fine just to get their car back,” he said, adding he had filed a police report after his car was clamped.

He is seeking legal advice and is questioning whether a private company contracted by the hospital has the legal right to clamp doctors’ cars on the private property once they have such permits and then demand money to release the vehicle.

The police said that clamping within the hospital grounds fell under the responsibility of the hospital administration. Questions sent to the hospital’s spokesperson remained unanswered by the time of writing.