14 CRACKDOWN New car park system at Hairmyres hospital
Commuters to be hit
Selfish commuters who abuse University Hospital Hairmyres car park by using it as a free park-andride will be forced to look for a space elsewhere next year.
Following years of parking woes for staff and patients at the busy East Kilbride hospital, the News can reveal that NHS Lanarkshire is planning to bring in a car parking management system in 2019.
The move is sure to be welcomed by long-suffering patients, staff and visitors who have campaigned for commuters to stop abusing the facility.
Despite monitoring arrangements such as checks at the car park entrances each morning and large warning stickers placed on their cars, commuters struggling to get parked at Hairmyres train station opposite continue to use the hospital as a free car park.
This means there are fewer spaces available for people who have a real need to park there; often resulting in patients being late for appointments or wasted time for staff that could be better spent on patient care.
And with the hospital car park jam-packed, those attending the facility can also be forced to park in nearby streets, upsetting and inconveniencing local residents.
Margaret Meek, deputy director of hospital services at Hairmyres, said: “Parking at the hospital is solely for the use of our patients, staff and visitors.
“I would urge anyone who parks in the morning and leaves their car at the hospital all day to think about who they are depriving of a parking space, such as ill patients and anxious relatives, and find somewhere else to park.
“As part of our healthcare strategy, achieving excellence, NHS Lanarkshire plans to introduce car parking management arrangements across all our sites next year.”