Romford doctor ‘can’t see son’ after ULEZ expansion, meeting told

A councillor has claimed that her daughter “cannot see” her young son since having to travel by train to and from her job at Queen’s Hospital after the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) expansion came into force.

During an extraordinary meeting held on Wednesday (August 30), Councillor Nisha Patel, of St Edwards ward, shared that her daughter could no longer use her non-compliant car to commute to the hospital in Romford, where she works as a general surgeon.

Her daughter, she said, lives in Dartford and has a one-year-old son whom she can no longer see as she is forced to spend more time travelling on trains.

She added: “She has a one-and-a-half year old son whom she cannot see.

“To me it is wrong. ULEZ is wrong at every level.”

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She said she advised her daughter to “give up the job” but being a surgeon, that could  “hurt a lot of people” because “residents will not have some operations done”.

Cllr Patel told the Recorder that her daughter has worked at Queen’s Hospital for more than 11 years.

Cllr Patel said: “Like my daughter, there are a lot of people out there – the care workers, the porters, the nurses – who are suffering.”

Fellow Tory councillor Timothy Ryan condemned the placement of ULEZ cameras near Queen’s Hospital.

He told the Recorder: “We’ve got so many vulnerable people who can’t even go to the hospital now because its going to cost them £12.50. It’s ridiculous.

“If doctors and nurses can’t afford to go to hospital because of this charge, this could impact all the residents.”

A Transport for London spokesperson said: “Enough cameras are in place across the whole of the ULEZ to support compliance and ensure the effectiveness of the scheme. 

“TfL consulted boroughs on ULEZ camera locations where necessary and will continue to review locations to ensure they are supporting meeting the scheme’s main objective, which is cleaning up the capital’s toxic air.”

They added that the £160m scrappage scheme supports all Londoners and the capital’s smaller businesses, sole traders and charities in replacing their older, more polluting vehicles with greener options.