Car park chaos driving hospital staff to despair
THERE are complaints that a new parking system at a Welsh hospital is causing chaos for staff and having a ripple effect on nearby businesses and residents.
In August, there were changes to how parking is managed and monitored at Glangwili Hospital in Carmarthen.
While parking has been free at the hospital since September 2018, an Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) system was introduced on August 1 this year in an attempt to ensure patient access was prioritised and that parking would be available for staff who need it most.
It also came on the back of reports that people were taking advantage of the free parking available and either walking or catching a bus into the town centre. Under the new set-up, visitors and patients can park for up to four hours in designated parts of the car park.
However, six weeks after the cameras went live at the hospital, it seems the system may have made things worse, with claims there are “not enough spaces” for staff – some of whom are parking off-site in case they get hit with a £70 fine for parking in a patient or visitor zone while carrying out their shift.
Staff at Glangwili Hospital have contacted WalesOnline to express frustration at the situation, complaining that they face a daily battle because of the lack of parking spaces and the anxiety brought about by the introduction of the ANPR technology.
One staff member, who did not wish to be named, said some of her colleagues had been “crying and arguing” over the issue, which has seen employees start their shifts late.
The staff member said: “The problem with this [new system] is that the hospital has not provided enough staff spaces, and we are, in fact, hundreds
short. Staff are having to leave their cars on main roads, nearby streets, basically wherever they can.
“Some mornings I have hunted high and low for somewhere to leave my car but been unsuccessful. I’m working 12-hour shifts from 9am9pm. There are many patient spaces available, but I am automatically issued with a fine for parking there. My only option is to look at surrounding streets.
“There are members of staff arguing over spaces, some are crying, coming into work late, and yet nobody will tell us what we’re supposed to do.”
Carmarthenshire Council has reminded hospital staff and visitors that a park-and-ride service operates every weekday between Nant-y-ci to the west of Carmarthen and Glangwili Hospital, with stops available in the town centre. Tickets cost £1.
Councillor Hazel Evans is encouraging the use of this service, funded by the council and Hywel Dda University Health Board, saying that “every journey on the park-and-ride helps free up a space at Glangwili Hospital’s car park”.
However, the issue appears to be more complicated.
Another member of staff said: “There are no spaces for us when we start at 9am and very limited spaces if we do manage to get in earlier. The park-and-ride does not suit some of our shift patterns, and with childcare it’s not always possible. Some staff are arriving over an hour before their shift starts just so they can get a space.
“I don’t wish to take away from the needs of the patients and their right to be able to park easily, but the current parking arrangements will definitely put staff off coming to work at Glangwili Hospital.”
While it seems to have escalated in recent weeks, the scale of the problem was visible long before the new parking conditions came into effect last month.
Last summer, an elderly man was injured when he was hit by a van on Bronwydd Road, a street where many cars park on the pavement a few yards from the hospital.
More recently, people have been parking even further away and causing obstruction to business owners, as well as residents.
Tafarn Tanerdy is a pub half a mile from Glangwili Hospital, just off the A484 that connects the area with the centre of Carmarthen. In recent weeks the hill leading to the pub has been full of cars parked along the pavement, effectively turning a twoway road into a one-way road.
This is having a detrimental effect on the pub’s trade, staff claim, because the congestion creates an illusion that the pub is packed to the rafters when it is, in fact, not. It also has a knock-on effect on the main road at the bottom of the hill, with several cars all trying to pull out from a road that is normally traffic-free.
“It seemed to start a few weeks ago when roadworks were being carried out near the hospital, and we all thought it would go back to normal once that finished, but it hasn’t,” revealed Christine Hire, manager at Tafarn Tanerdy.
“We’ve got a lot of houses near the pub and our neighbours have been complaining to us because it’s causing congestion on the road. We’ve had people ringing the pub asking our customers not to park on the road, but it’s nothing to with us or our customers.
“It’s dangerous too because cars are parked all the way down to the junction with the main road. Also, we have a lot of elderly and disabled customers in the daytimes and there is a drop in the curb by the main entrance which helps with access, but this drop is blocked because people are parking in front of it.”
Despite pub bosses contacting the police and local council, the congestion shows no sign of abating.
Mrs Hire added: “Cars are parked here all day between about 8.15am and 5.30pm, and the worst thing for us is that we’ve had customers saying that they’ve tried to come to the pub previously, seen all the cars, assumed we would be too busy and gone elsewhere. But we weren’t busy – all the cars they could see belonged to hospital staff.
“It’s not their fault, they’re not doing it on purpose. We don’t want them to get booked because they’re just trying to get to work and we can understand that, but it’s affecting us as a business.”
Carmarthenshire Council has explained it is powerless to stop people parking on roads where there are no restrictions, such as double yellow lines.
However, the authority has confirmed that a range of parking restrictions are being considered across the county, including in the Tanerdy area. These, if implemented, would see the introduction of yellow lines, meaning that council enforcement officers could potentially take action against people parking by the side of the road.
Furthermore, police say they are regularly monitoring the parking near Glangwili Hospital, and warn that drivers can be at risk of being ticketed if their cars are causing an obstruction.
Hywel Dda University Health Board has been approached for a comment.