Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
PARK STRIFE
Hospital staff angry as review into who gets free permits for their cars begins
UNDER-PRESSURE doctors and nurses face having nowhere to park after a radical overhaul over how free permits are awarded.
Belfast Trust chiefs are reviewing which workers get free parking amid ongoing space pressure on sites controlled by the health body.
Sources have indicated there is anger with workers turned down for a pass, leaving them having to pay for parking or rely on public transport.
In a booklet circulated to workers, the trust said they “do not have sufficient car parking spaces to meet demand from staff ”, adding that car parks “reached capacity a number of years ago”.
It said a “new application, assessment, verification and allocation process” is ongoing to decide who gets a pass.
However, the move has sparked some concern with unions monitoring the situation closely.
One source said: “There’s people who do shift work who may have to start at 7am or something like that but live out in the country and they’ve been turned down.
“They’re being told they can get the bus when it’s clear there’s no buses that are going to get you to the city for a 7am shift from where they live.
“If you get a ‘no’ they’re giving you what they call a ‘personal travel plan’ which by the look of it is a bus timetable.
“There’s also people who’ve had a pass previously but under the new process they’ve not got a new one, so certainly there’s some anger out there.
“This is being trialled at the City where there’s issues alright, but when they roll it out at the Royal I’d say there’s going to be chaos.” One insider also claimed commuters are using the Royal car park to leave vehicles before walking into the city centre.
In its information booklet, the Trust adds that there are already “lengthy waiting lists” for free parking passes.
They add that “many staff who need their car for business purposes or have no other travel options, often have to park in nearby streets or in the public car parks and pay the public tariff rate”.
Trust sources have conceded that some people who have had free passes “may not” get a new one under the criteria. They add that revenue generated by trust car parks also goes towards patient care as well as the upkeep of the car parks.
Trust chiefs are understood to be reviewing land holdings to establish if any more parking space can be found, but it is believed this will not yield many more spaces.
Sources said there is an appeals process for people unhappy with the outcome.
In a statement, it said: “Belfast Trust understands the very difficult challenges faced by staff and patients where car packing capacity is limited.”
It also said the situation was compounded by “the inappropriate use of designated disabled car parking spaces and set down and pick up areas”.
The trust added “Vital to all of this is a new eligibility criteria which seeks to provide a mechanism upon which those staff in most need of car parking are prioritised in a fair and equitable manner.
“To date applications for car parking permits at the City Hospital site far exceed capacity as the trust continues to process applications.”
When they roll it out at the Royal I’d say there’s going to be chaos INSIDER ON PARKING PASS FURORE AT BELFAST TRUST