General Hospital safety concerns raised

The Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region (RQHR) is admitting safety is a concern when it comes to parking at the General Hospital.

Early Thursday morning, a hospital employee was walking to her car after work when she was assaulted. Her purse was stolen before another person watching honked their horn and scared the alleged assailant away.

Many RQHR employees working at the General Hospital — located in the Heritage area, one of the top spots of community crime in the city — can’t park onsite because there aren’t enough spaces available.

“We do have parking for staff, but it is definitely not adequate for the need. The demand far exceeds our current capacity to park on our property,” said Barry Stricker, director of security services for the RQHR.

The wait-list for a parking spot has more than 700 names on it. Employees can wait up to eight years before one becomes available.

Employee parking is typically at capacity between normal working hours.

“After that, we try to open up parking after-hours for staff coming after those time frames,” said Stricker.

Stricker said security measures have been put in place to make parking easier and safer for employees.

A “park and ride” option is available for $38 a month. It offers employees rides to the hospital from the Conexus Arts Centre and 1350 Albert St.

For employees working odd hours, the park and ride isn’t a solution that works.

The shuttle only runs from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. and from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. Stricker said the RQHR is looking at extending the hours of that program to accommodate more employees.

Security guards are made available to walk or drive employees to their spots, but some employees have said security isn’t always available when needed.

Stricker said the only time staff would not be able to get a security escort is if there was a “higher priority call for service.”

Laurie Shalley, director of community services for the City of Regina, said parking at the hospital is the responsibility of the health region; but exploring the possibility of a parkade, or other long-term solutions, is the best answer for health region employees.

Stricker said building a parkade has been studied by the health region, but would prove costly: especially when tax-dollars to the RQHR are often aimed at improving patient care.

“The cost of a parkade, just in rough figures, an individual stall would cost in excess of $30,000 per stall,” he said, adding about 600 stalls would be needed.

Residents who live close to the General Hospital can purchase parking permits from the city, allowing them to stay in a spot longer than the two-hour limit without worry of a ticket.

Shalley said the time limit is an effort to reduce traffic congestion and provide turnover so residents can park closer to home.

“We try to balance the needs of the area residents with the needs of the hospital, which are really related to both visitors and staff,” she said.

Denise Dick, first vicepresident for the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses (SUN), said the issue of parking and safety has been raised by the union before.

“It’s certainly a conversation our members have been able to have,” she said.