Police called in to investigate disclosed CHUS parking codes

The management of the CIUSSS de l’estrie - CHUS has filed a complaint with the Sherbrooke Police after a frustrated employee revealed a hundred parking codes for parking meters at the Fleurimont hospital over the weekend. The codes allow users to avoid paying parking fees. Only security guards are supposed to have these codes to give to certain employees in certain cases.

Since the introduction of a new payment system at the two CHUS hospitals, security guards no longer have the responsibility to monitor parking, a task now assigned to The Société Parc-auto du Québec. The company is entrusted with providing security and the payment equipment. Although no hospital security personnel have lost their job, a "no replacement" policy is in place and some employees on recall lists may work fewer hours than before.

In addition to the police investigation, steps will also be taken internally against the offending employee that will include penalties that can go as far as dismissal, a CHUS spokesperson says.

The new parking system has aroused anger among users since its installation in mid-october. The CHUS technical services department has been working from the beginning to correct irritants encountered by users and continues to do so. Other issues will be corrected soon, it says, including the programming of timestamps and the online payment application, Passport Canada.

Besides a generalized complaint about having to pay for hospital parking at all, many have complained about having to leave a doctor's office to feed the ticket machine.