Hospital parking fines put patients lives at risk - UNISON

Thursday 22 Jan 2009
For release 00.01am


Scottish healthcare union, UNISON, today wrote to NHS GG&C Chief Executive, Tom Divers, pointing out that the 4 hour maximum parking period imposed upon staff on hospital sites across NHS Glasgow and Clyde is putting vulnerable patients at risk.


It has come to light that the crash teams – the staff whose job it is to respond to emergency cardiac problems anywhere on the hospital site - at the Southern General Hospital and Stobhill Hospital use their own cars as the fastest way to dash across their respective sites to attend patients suffering a heart attack or other similar cardiac problems. Since the introduction of the unpopular 4 hour maximum for parking, these life-saving staff now run the risk of a £40 fine for parking outside their work place for more than 4 hours.

In the letter, UNISON Regional Organiser Matt McLaughlin says,

“I would question the safety of staff using a private car to travel across the site to attend a medical emergency in any case. But I do have to question the reasonableness of parking restrictions which, if followed by emergency staff, would mean that they do not park their cars on site and would then presumably need to run from one end of the Southern General (or indeed Stobhill – which is uphill) to the other.

“This example provides clear evidence that NHS GG&C’s Parking Scheme puts staff and patients at risk.”