Plea for free hospital parking to aid vaccine rollout
THERE’S renewed calls for free parking at the Gold Coast University Hospital as tens of thousands of health workers and locals are asked to get COVID vaccinations.
Shadow Health Minister Ros Bates (pictured) said nurses were the heroes on the frontline fighting to keep the community safe.
“Their focus should be on keeping us safe, not on having to fork out their own money for parking,” she said.
“As the vaccine rolls out and crowds flock to hospitals, the state government’s failure to provide sufficient health infrastructure is costing our nurses.”
It comes as the Gold Coast Health and Hospital Service (GCHHS) has increased its staffing levels during its response to the COVID pandemic, with an extra 200 fulltime equivalent staff members on the books. More will be needed when mass vaccination centres open across the city. Parker Simmonds Solicitors litigation director Bruce Simmonds
said a community-driven campaign was needed to force charges down for already stretched workers. “Nurses and other hospital staff are being forced to park some distance away and walk to work, often in darkness so their safety is compromised,” he said.
“Over the coming weeks and months the demands on Gold Coast University Hospital (GCUH) will be greater than ever as thousands rock up for their vaccine jabs.
“The vaccinations are free but we should not have to pay through the nose at the carpark to access the treatment.”
Mr Simmonds has previously called for free parking during COVID-19 lockdowns.
A Queensland Health spokeswoman said people could choose where to have the vaccination: a public hospital, their GP, or a pharmacy. The hub at GCUH was “initially” being used to deliver the Pfizer vaccine to the priority 1a group, with most health workers based onsite.
“We work closely with the private carparking providers at Queensland’s free public hospitals to ensure staff and patients can access fair and affordable parking,” she said.
“Our hospital carparking concession scheme has already improved the availability and affordability of hospital parking for over 1.4 million Queenslanders since it was introduced in 2017.”
She said Secure Parking, which operates the undercover carpark at GCUH, independently set prices and that GCHHS didn’t get any revenue from car park facilities. Secure Parking has previously said it takes fee guidance from QH. It is understood that of the 116 Queensland public hospitals, only 14 have paid on-site carparking.
PRINCE Philip is sick of looking at hospital walls and wants to get home, as the Royal Family keep their “fingers crossed” for a speedy recovery.
The Duke of Edinburgh, 99, is in his second week at King Edward VII’s Hospital in Marylebone, central London.
And it is unlikely he will be let out before the weekend, much to his frustration. In an unusual step to calm nerves about the Duke’s health, Buckingham Palace has revealed he has been suffering from an “infection”.
Prince Edward, 56, was the latest royal to play down his father’s illness, after Prince William insisted he was “OK” earlier this week.
“He’s a lot better, thank you very much indeed, and he’s looking forward to getting out, which is the most positive thing, so we keep our fingers crossed,” Edward told Sky News UK.
Edward, who has spoken to his father on the phone, laughed when he was asked during the pre-planned interview whether Prince Philip was frustrated at being in hospital.
“Just a bit. I think that gets to all of us and then you can only watch the clock so many times and the walls are only so interesting,” he said.
“We’ve had some brilliant and lovely messages from all sorts of people and we really appreciate that and so does he. I’ve been passing them on. “It’s fantastic, thank you.” This latest visit is Philip’s seventh time in hospital in the past 10 years and his longest stay outside scheduled treatments. He is due to turn 100 on June 10.