Lack of hospital car parking for staff ‘disgraceful’ and ‘very unfair’

SPECIAL REPORT

BY HOLLY CALLENDER

THE closure of a temporary car park with the loss of almost 600 spaces at Glasgow’s super-hospital has added hours to the day of some essential staff who have to rely on their cars to get to work.

Others have had to sleep in their cars to ensure they can make their shifts.

The Thales car park on spare land next to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital was granted temporary planning permission by Glasgow City Council to bridge the gap between the hospital opening and completion of the three onsite multi-storey car parks. The final one was completed last month and Thales closed last week, but staff claim that a rigid permit system for the officially-provided spaces means many nurses and ancillary staff do not qualify while floors of the car parks are virtually empty.

Staff can apply for a permit through a car-sharing scheme and, since October 5, if they live more than 20 miles from the hospital. However those inside the boundary who work unsociable hours and cannot rely on public transport must drive to work.

But over-zealous parking wardens, it’s claimed, are even turning away legitimate permit holders who find themselves unable to comply with the permit rules due to shift patterns.

To gain entry to the multi-storey car parks staff must show a permit to a CP Plus parking warden. Wardens only allow entry for car share permit holders if there are at least two people in the car, but due to the nature of hospital shift patterns it is not possible to car share every day.

One nurse said: “This week, I wasn’t on with the girl who I car share with, so I had to find a space in the non-permit car park, and had to leave earlier.”

“The car park wardens are really strict,” another nurse said. “Two of them man the entrance, and every time I go up they ask to see my permit. They make us drive to the top floor, and we pass two empty floors on the way.

“It honestly feels like you are Staff at Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital say parking provision is grossly inadequate