DRIVEN TO DESPAIR
Motorists left circling RAH car park as spaces fenced off
Drivers at the Royal Alexandra Hospital are facing parking chaos as half the spaces are fenced off for work to be carried out.
Cars could be seen going round in circles at the busy Paisley hospital yesterday as work was ongoing to improve the car park.
The work is part of a £500,000 investment and will see sections of the car park closed off.
However, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde did not confirm how long the repairs will take.
Workers have been repairing the road surface, painting new lines on the spaces and creating a “clearly defined” pedestrian walkway through the usually packed site.
The RAH has been plagued with issues surrounding parking for a number of years, with staff and politicians branding the current situation a “fiasco” and campaigning for additional parking facilities.
The Express previously revealed that staff working 12-hour shifts were being forced to park in disabled bays, unauthorised spaces and on double yellow lines due to the lack of spaces available resulting in many being fined.
Staff had their hopes shattered earlier this year when health board bosses said they would not increase the number of spaces as would not be in keeping with its efforts to tackle climate change.
NHSGGC said the new works are part of an investment into roads and pathways across the Corsebar Road site.
However, West Scotland MSP
Neil Bibby said the work being carried out is not good enough and that the only way to improve the parking situation is to provide more spaces.
He said: “The lack of parking capacity at the RAH means that even the slightest disruption can have a huge impact on access to the hospital and the surrounding area.
“People going to hospital, especially when they are ill or injured, shouldn’t have to worry about getting parked. This is an accessibility issue for patients and a day to day concern of staff.
“I have consistently raised the frustrations of staff, patients and visitors with the health board and the Scottish Government.
“They have failed to act or deliver a proper solution, such as additional spaces or decked parking.
“Those who are neglecting this issue are effectively contributing to parking chaos at the RAH.”
A spokesman from NHS Greater
Glasgow and Clyde said: “As part of an £500,000 investment into roads and pathways across the RAH site, we are currently improving the car park surfaces, painting new parking lines for patients, staff and visitors, and clearly defining a pedestrian walkway to create a safe route through the car park.
“This is being done on a phased basis to minimise disruption and we have parking attendants on site to help advise and assist with any questions.”