Hospital’s new parking barriers ‘could delay ambulances’
Councillor hits out at health chiefs
A Paisley councillor has blasted the health board over its handling of the installation of parking barriers at the Royal Alexandra Hospital.
Kenny MacLaren claims that NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde’s decision to put in place new parking measures could affect access for emergency vehicles.
The barriers came into operation in September last year with little warning for staff and patients, and Councillor MacLaren fears they could lead to increased traffic in the area.
He said: “The use of car park barriers at the RAH could have a serious impact on the road network surrounding the hospital, as well as for other vehicles trying to access the hospital including buses, patient transport and even emergency vehicles.”
The councillor for Paisley Northwest says the health board also failed to answer his questions about the new barriers for more than three months and, even then, provided an inadequate response.
He went on: “I am disappointed that the health board was not able to respond within the standard time for an Freedom of Information request and that repeated communication was needed until I received a response.
“Even then the response did not answer all my questions. For this reason, I am referring this case to the Scottish Information Commissioner and asking them to review the failure of the health board to answer my original request.
“I suspect the use of the car park barriers at certain times will have an impact on the local road network, with traffic potentially queued back onto Corsebar Road.
“I would also have serious concerns about access to the hospital for other road users including emergency vehicles if the barriers create a buildup of traffic on the access road to the RAH.
“The failure to consult fully with staff, patients and the public could result in a lot of problems when the barriers come into use on the September 26.
“I am not convinced that this is the best option to manage the car parks within the RAH and the failure to respond fully to my FOI request – and on time – means that I have little confidence in the decision of the health board to introduce these barriers.”
An NHSGGC spokeswoman said: “The barriers are scheduled to become operational at the end of September to help ensure that the dedicated spaces we have for patients and visitors are only used by them.
“We will ensure that those affected will be fully informed of the new scheme before the barriers become operational. Our travel office team are providing staff with information on alternative options for commuting to RAH and will also help with personal travel plans. There will also be a travel information session for staff in August.
“We can also offer the reassurance that the barriers will be manned at busy times and their impact will also be closely monitored, in order that any impact on traffic in the area can be minimised or indeed avoided.
“We would like to apologise to Councillor MacLaren for the delay in responding to his enquiry. Whilst we did not treat his enquiry as an application under the Freedom of Information act, we acknowledge that we did take longer than we would like to reply to his questions.”