One of the many problems with the QEUH is that it was built in the wrong place
THE pre-existing physical restrictions of the site that the
Queen Elizabeth University Hospital was built on dictated that there would be insufficient parking for patients and staff alike. The health board knew this in advance of starting the project.
The subsequent disruption experienced by local residents caused by overspill parking on neighbouring streets and the interminable traffic jams on
Renfrew Road every evening as staff go off duty are the inevitable consequence of both the design and the location.
John Mcmaster’s tale of woe about parking problems on the site (Letters, December 10) is far from unique but his suggestion that a return to having parking charges on hospital sites is just plain wrong; the inference being that as he apparently could afford to pay he should be able to pitch up and have a space while one assumes less financially well-off patients and staff would be forced to use comparatively inconvenient public transport or to abandon their cars off-site.
This is not a problem to be blamed on Holyrood policy but rather the local health board which commissioned the project and built a hospital in the wrong place. Insufficient parking is just one of the many work-related problems that staff, many of whom commute from a greater distance than G32 to work, experience there every day. Dare I mention pigeons, cladding, lack of changing facilities, excessive walking for staff due to single room policy as just a few of them?
Perhaps next time Mr Mcmaster can set an example and spend a day on the bus getting to and from the hospital?
As he is passing the Royal Infirmary he will have ample time to wonder why his wife is not being treated there.
David J Crawford,
Glasgow G12.
I DISAGREE strongly with your correspondent John Mcmaster’s suggestion that parking charges be re-introduced at hospitals.
If, as a patient, you are able to drive yourself or be driven by a family member to hospital for treatment, parking charges can be prohibitive. Glasgow Royal
Infirmary charges £1.80 an hour for parking. How are lower income families to pay for this? What about people with long-term conditions who are off work for a number of months and are not being paid – are we to add to their stress by asking them to pay for parking? What about elderly people living on a basic state pension – are they to decide between paying for parking or negotiating public transport?
Is Mr Mcmaster seriously suggesting that parents with a sick child should leave the car at home?
It is widely recognised that parking at most hospitals in the central belt is inadequate. However if there was a drop-off point for drivers which allowed them to drop their relative or friend in time for an appointment, then return to collect them when the appointment is over, that would release spaces for patients who are able to drive themselves and, particularly in the case of people with dementia, allow carers to park and stay with the patient. This would help prioritise parking for patients and carers which is as it should be.
I suspect that even if, as Mr Mcmaster suggests, many drivers choose to switch to public transport and bus companies improved their services, parking at hospitals would still be insufficient and I cannot see that there would be any significant impact on climate change or air quality.
However his concern is admirable and I trust that Mr Mcmaster will be one of those on the bus the next time.
Carol Vanzetta,
East Kilbride.
IN response to John Mcmaster, my experience of parking at the QEUH is somewhat different. Having attended numerous appointments with my wife over the past three years, I can say that I have never had a problem in finding a space (usually in car park 1). My daughter has also recently attended a couple of antenatal appointments and similarly has had no problem with the parking provision. Perhaps Mr Mcmaster was unlucky on the day he attended.
With regard to bringing back charges, I doubt if it would have a significant impact on NHS revenue (after deducting the cost of administration of the system) and, having worked in the public transport business for 40 years before retirement, I am sceptical that the bus companies would increase services, unless there was a clear business case for expansion.
I am also curious as to who, in Mr Mcmaster’s opinion, should be allowed to use their car to the
QEUH and who should be shunted on to public transport.
Jim Leslie,
East Kilbride.