Talks over hospital car park changes
BOSSES at Nuneaton’s hospital are considering changing the “frustrating” car parking after a series of problems with the vehicle registration system.
There is now an acceptance that the current vehicle registration system which operates on George Eliot Hospital’s car parks is “temperamental”.
The system could now be scrapped and switched to ‘pay-when-you-leave’ to make it easier for those who use the hospital car parks for appointments and visits. Andy Laverick, director of IT at the hospital, told a George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust board meeting: “We are having some issues with the vehicle registration system, it is frustrating for some of our out-patients, so we are looking at changing that system and potentially going away from vehicle recognition, and instead have a system where you drive up, take your ticket, pay when you leave and put your ticket in, a bit like University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire and a bit like the Ropewalk in Nuneaton. “We are reviewing that at the moment to try and make it a bit easier because we are finding at the moment that the recognition system has been temperamental.”
Trust chairman Stuart Annan agreed that changes need to be made.
“There is nothing worse than coming to a hospital appointment, when you are already under pressure emotionally, to suddenly be worried about whether you can park or meet an appointment time for an outpatient appointment, or whatever,” he said.
“It is the wrong way to start a visit to a hospital and, of course, we have the issue with staff as well trying to find somewhere to park and we have had some issues over damage in the car parks, some vandalism, which is now being looked at seriously by our security staff.
“So while it (car parking) is not clinical, it is an important part of the overall service that we provide and we should never forget it.”
There is nothing worse than coming to a hospital appointment, when you are already under pressure emotionally, to suddenly be worried about whether you can park Trust chairman Stuart Annan