Care Opinion

Hospital parking

Posted By TaraDee60

"Hospital parking"

About: Ninewells Hospital

(as the patient),

I attended an appointment at Ninewells Hospital. I arrived in plenty of time for my appointment, but unfortunately I spent the next hour trying to find a parking spot. 50 or more cars were in the same situation.

It seems to be an ongoing issue as it’s a great place to park a car and bus into Dundee. This is something I would never do as hospitals are very important places for the sick.

My anxieties got the better of me and returned home. I have to reschedule and find alternative ways to get to appointments as I do not live near Ninewells.

I feel that something needs to be done about this situation sooner rather than later, as this is causing problems with missed appointments etc.

When I phoned the department to let them know what had happened today they were very understanding but unfortunately they shouldn’t have to be. It seems that parking has become so much harder since Covid and parking was made free of charge. The only thing that’s required is a free parking ticket.

I don’t agree with having to pay for parking in hospitals, buy I will pay again if it means I can get to my appointments, as can others, whether it be life saving or not. 

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Responses

Response from Louise Fraser, Soft Facilities Manager, Facilities Directorate, NHS Tayside 14 months ago
Louise Fraser
Soft Facilities Manager, Facilities Directorate,
NHS Tayside

With lead responsibility for NHST Domestic Services, NHST Site Management and Car Parks, NHST Residences and all Soft Facility Services for Perth and Kinross and Angus Localities.

Submitted on 13/12/2023 at 17:34
Published on Care Opinion at 17:34

picture of Louise Fraser

Dear TaraDee60

Thank you for taking the time to provide feedback with regard to your recent experience. On behalf of NHS Tayside I would like to apologise for the inconvenience caused to you.

Ninewells Hospital has one of the largest car parks within Scotland, with 2,437 spaces available. The site can experience significant parking demands at peak times, which is a similar experience as most large acute hospitals. Over the years we have introduced a number of measures to make the best use of the space and to manage car parking effectively.

There are strict parking arrangements in place with signage in all areas outlining the parking arrangements and clear notification of penalties should a member of staff or visitor fail to comply with these arrangements.

Car parks 5, 6, 7, East Block car park and the Renal Unit car park are dedicated short-stay parking specifically for patients and visitors and are close to the entrances of the hospital. All vehicles using short-stay car parks, including blue badge holders, must clearly display a free ‘collect and display’ parking ticket. This allows a consistent turnover of spaces with a recent analysis of the short-stay car parks showing that a space is used on average four times a day by patient and visitors.

There are also dedicated patient/visitor drop-off areas close to the main entrance and long-stay parking is available for staff, patients and visitors within car parks 1, 2, 9 and the multi-storey (car park 8).

As a public sector organisation, we are committed to delivering environmental policies and targets, including the identification and promotion of alternative sustainable modes of transport. We encourage patients, visitors and staff to consider alternative ways of getting to hospital whenever possible, such as using public transport, cycling, walking or arranging to be dropped off by a relative or friend. Ninewells is very well served by local buses and has a bus terminus at the main entrance, which was developed in partnership with Dundee City Council.

We also recently reintroduced the Liftshare scheme, which encourages staff to share car journeys to work, and are finalising an active travel strategy. These are all part of a range of measures to offer information on alternatives to car-based journeys to help alleviate pressure on the finite number of car parking spaces on the Ninewells site.

NHS Tayside will continue to engage with local authorities, other NHS Boards, and travel planning and public transport organisations to help support access to our hospital facilities.

I hope the above provides reassurance that NHS Tayside continues to work proactively to effectively manage parking on the Ninewells site.

With best wishes

Louise Fraser

Soft Facilities Manager, Ninewells Hospital

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