Care Opinion

Problems with disabled Parking

Posted By kirks84

"Problems with disabled Parking"

About: Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust - Queen's Medical Centre Campus

(as the patient),

I'm disabled and have to attend hospital appointments regularly either for my myself or to attend check ups with my husband following his cancer treatment a couple of years ago.

I have a Blue Badge but this means absolutely nothing at the QMC in Nottingham. Even though there is an entire car park supposedly designated for Blue Badge Holders and there are various spaces for disabled visitors dotted around the hospital it's incredibly frustrating that no one seems to respect these spaces. On a visit to the hospital yesterday I reckon that literally 4 out of 5 cars did not have a Blue Badge on display. I was even told that there is an "amnesty" over the weekend and overnight which allows staff to use the spaces! This was of no help to me when I had to take my husband in at 7am for an operation on Sunday morning only to find there were no Blue Badge spaces and no Blue Badges on display!

I have even found these spaces used to park building contractors vehicles, a crane and rubbish skips!

I am beyond angry and frustrated about the difficulty I have finding parking at the hospital! Being disabled is not a lifestyle choice and Blue Badge parking isn't a privilege - it's a downright necessity! Something needs to be done to provide disabled people with their equal rights to accessible parking - and I don't mean having someone wandering about in a Hi-viz vest handing out meaningless stickers. There need to be proper sanctions to stop people from using spaces specifically designated for people with a valid Blue Badge.

Your response would be much appreciated.

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Responses

Response from Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust 8 years ago
We are preparing to make a change
Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust

Submitted on 17/11/2016 at 13:27
Published on Care Opinion at 13:38

Thank you for raising your concerns regarding the disabled parking at QMC.

I’m sorry for the difficulties you have experienced. We fully accept that we have work to do to ensure disabled spaces are used appropriately by patients, visitors and staff and have some way to go to resolve this problem.

We have issued communications to staff to deter abuse of disabled spaces. We are challenging visitors and staff on a daily basis, including with the support of our proactive Community Support Officer for the QMC areas. I can confirm that there is no ‘amnesty’ at weekends or overnight to use these spaces and any staff. We will remind our staff of this.

We are working with Nottingham City Council to explore the possibility of introducing Parking Traffic Regulations Orders, which is a legal power that enables parking signs, lines and bay restrictions to be enforced, as we often have incidents where staff, patients and visitors are found parking in these bays without a blue badge on display. On these occasions anyone unfairly parking in a disabled space is challenged and penalties issued.

Best wishes,

Paula Charlton.

Soft FM Performance and QA Compliance Officer, Estates and Facilities

Response from Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust 8 years ago
Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust

Submitted on 23/11/2016 at 13:16
Published on Care Opinion at 13:50

Just to update you, we have today sent out a clear message to our staff to remind colleagues who work night and weekend shifts regarding parking at QMC.

We have described to staff that only designated car parks should be used and that there should be no parking (at any time):

In disabled bays (spaces for blue badge holders) – repeated parking in these bays could lead to disciplinary action for staff In any areas that obstruct emergency access (including yellow hatched areas) In A&E drop off bays (these are for patients who need them) On the perimeter road (the red and yellow lines indicate they are not parking spaces) and such parking restricts access for everyone and impacts on safety of patients, visitors and staff.

Best wishes,

Paula Charlton.

Soft FM Performance and QA Compliance Officer, Estates and Facilities.

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