Hospital worker's TEN YEAR wait for a car parking space

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Hospital worker's TEN YEAR wait for a car parking space

Postby dutchman » Sun Oct 30, 2016 7:01 pm

1,300 members of staff are currently waiting to be allocated a parking space, FOI has revealed

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A worker at Coventry hospital has been waiting nearly a decade for a staff parking space.

A freedom of information act request made to the Walsgrave hospital revealed the staggering statistic and also showed that an incredible 1,300 members of staff are currently waiting to be allocated a parking space.

The earliest entry on the mammoth waiting list was in August 2017.

Hospital staff have admitted that the situation “is not ideal”.

They have said: “The Trust has this year established a group, including clinical representatives, to undertake a full review of the staff car parking arrangements which has suggested a new set of criteria which is due to be implemented in 2017.”

The hospital says that staff on the waiting list are given spaces on a points based system which factors in distance travelled to work and other factors.

These also include working pattern with points awarded for office hours, business use, on-call shifts, night shifts, long days, rotating shifts, 12 hour shifts and weekends.

Parking has been an issue at the hospital for some time, with prices continuing to go up.

In May hospital bosses announced that work to improve congestion around the site had completed and work would shortly commence to build two decked car parks, adding another 250 spaces.

But in the mean time many staff and patients opt to park on nearby residential streets.

The situation meant staff working late at night often had to walk to their cars alone, something union bosses highlighted as a safety issue.

Even if there were spaces at the car park without a pass parking for more than seven hours would cost nearly £10.

Unite regional officer Frank Keogh said: “If it is correct that members of staff have been on the staff car park waiting list for nearly ten years, it is a matter of serious concern and should be sorted out by the management as soon as possible.

“Staff car parking is an important issue for our members. It is not always possible for NHS employees to use public transport to get to work because of the nature of shift work. There is also the issue of staff safety, particularly for women, travelling on public transport late at night.

“For those that do park their cars, they could be a long away from their actual place of work and then having to walk back to cars late at night.

“According to the Department of Health, most NHS hospital sites do not charge for staff parking. Unite would support that position, but the experience of our members is that this is not the case, with some staff having to pay as much as £30-a-week to park at their place of work.

“NHS staff have seen their wages squeezed dramatically in real terms by more than 15 per cent since 2010 and prohibitive car parking charges for staff are just another attack on their eroding wages.”

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Re: Hospital worker's TEN YEAR wait for a car parking space

Postby dutchman » Thu Mar 22, 2018 10:38 pm

Plan to ease hospital car park congestion moves a step closer

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A solution to the ongoing problems of driving into Coventry’s hospital – and finding a parking space – will move a step closer as plans for a massive staff car park are presented to the public.

Developers and the trust which runs University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire will be displaying the plans for a 1,600-space car park on land to the east of the hospital, following an initial consultation which began in October last year.

The hospital in Walsgrave is a renowned traffic bottleneck, with patients and visitors frequently having to endure lengthy waits to get into the busy car parks currently on the site.

If given the go-ahead the new car park could free up spaces for patients and visitors on the main hospital site and improve staff access to parking.

Early plans for the proposed car park were first shown to residents last October.

The new car park would be located to the rear of the hospital, on its east side, with access from Clifford Bridge Road and through the hospital via the current service link road.

The public event outlining the plan takes place at Walsgrave Baptist Church, on Hinckley Road, on March 28 from 2.30pm to 7.30pm.

It will provide the community with an opportunity to see how feedback provided has helped to shape the plans and designs.

The project team will be on hand throughout the day to answer any questions people may have about the plan.

Anyone with questions regarding the car park plan who is unable to attend the open event should email carparkplan@uhcw.nhs.uk

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Re: Hospital worker's TEN YEAR wait for a car parking space

Postby Jock Strapp » Fri Mar 23, 2018 12:29 pm

Suppose the new car park will be privately owned and so generate more cash for the fat cats.
My son lives in Boswell Drive, a very short walk from the hospital. He is frequently asked by hospital staff if they can park their car on his bit of ground. Sadly he needs the space to park his own car.
I was one of those muppets that protested about building the hospital at Walsgrave. I, like many others thought it best to build it on the old Cov' and Warwickshire site. There would have been room there for the hospital but little room left for cars. On the other hand most people in Coventry and elsewhere could travel by public transport.
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Re: Hospital worker's TEN YEAR wait for a car parking space

Postby rebbonk » Fri Mar 23, 2018 12:56 pm

Jock Strapp wrote:I was one of those muppets that protested about building the hospital at Walsgrave


That makes two of us Jock
Of course it'll fit; you just need a bigger hammer.
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Re: Hospital worker's TEN YEAR wait for a car parking space

Postby Melisandre » Fri Mar 23, 2018 1:27 pm

Jock Strapp wrote: I, like many others thought it best to build it on the old Cov' and Warwickshire site. There would have been room there for the hospital but little room left for cars. On the other hand most people in Coventry and elsewhere could travel by public transport.


Me to Jock its more central. They could of built a big multi story car park on Bishopgate instead of homes corner of Folesjhill Rd for hospital parking then another on Bishop St where the old sorting post office was instead of those ugly towering student flats but then they have nt the brains for that have they.
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Re: Hospital worker's TEN YEAR wait for a car parking space

Postby dutchman » Fri Mar 23, 2018 3:12 pm

Jock Strapp wrote:I was one of those muppets that protested about building the hospital at Walsgrave. I, like many others thought it best to build it on the old Cov' and Warwickshire site.


So did the City Council. They even published a report called (I think) Twenty Reasons why it should be built there. It was Geoffrey Robinson who forced through the public-private project at Walsgrave at thirty-times the cost of one in Stoney Stanton Road and which the NHS is still paying for. :fuming:
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Re: Hospital worker's TEN YEAR wait for a car parking space

Postby dutchman » Mon Jul 23, 2018 8:04 pm

New car park for hospital staff - but all is not what it seems

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A new car park for staff University Hospital Coventry could be built - however it isn't what you'd expect.

A planning application has been submitted to Coventry City Council for a new site for staff to park their vehicles during shifts.

However, the facility looks set to be for only 125 vehicles, and not a permanent one.

If approved, it won't be run by UHCW and NHS Trust, but will be there to try and relieve some of the pressure on the existing car parks.

The car park is proposed to be temporary resolution to parking problems at the site for just three years.

In the design and access statement from IDP group who are submitting the application on the developer's behalf, it says the temporary facility is to relieve pressure while a new one is being built.

It also states users for the car park are expected to be staff of the hospital.

In the design and access statement, demand generated by the current hospital redevelopment programme is cited as the reason behind the application.

It would in operation between 6am-11pm, and is anticipated both night and day shift staff at the hospital will use it.

Day time staff working 9am-5pm will use the car park along with early morning shift workers working 6am-6pm.

Visitors would also be able to use the car park for which they would be expected to pay a charge.

The land being used for the car park is on derelict scrub land and is located between Bodmin Road and Clifford Bridge Road - just across the road from University Hospital.

The land is in a poor condition, and formally houses a commercial unit, but was demolished ten years ago due to the deterioration of the building.

The current state of the car park is derelict scrub land with the gated entrance secured with loose rubble to prevent illegal fly tipping and reduce the risk of unauthorised traveller camps.

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Re: Hospital worker's TEN YEAR wait for a car parking space

Postby dutchman » Tue Mar 24, 2020 8:11 am

New hospital car park set for green light after exit plan axed

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Long drawn-out plans for a new car park at University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) are edging closer to approval after a controversial exit was axed.

The major new 1,600 space staff-only car park is proposed at the rear of the hospital to help free up spaces for visitors in the existing car park at the front.

Plans have been in the pipeline for years with initial proposals submitted to Coventry City Council in 2018, but there have been a number concerns raised by residents and council planners themselves.

After several changes, the bid is now expected to be brought to a planning committee at some point in the coming months where officers at the city council have recommended the scheme is given planning approval.

One key change sees the removal of a controversial time-controlled exit.

It was initially proposed onto Farber Road to allow up to 565 vehicles to exit each day between 4pm to 8.30pm, and then altered onto the Brade Drive junction just 35 metres away in a bid to combat concerns.

But objectors branded the plan “unacceptable” and launched two petitions totalling 470 signatures, fearing it would still drive hundreds of vehicles a day outside their homes on the small Mount Pleasant Estate.

New plans see the exit removed entirely, with the car park’s entrance and exit instead proposed via the main Clifford Bridge Road entrance.

Ahead of the meeting, planning officer Liam D’Onofrio said: “Insufficient information to demonstrate the need for the exit has been provided and the applicant has therefore agreed to the removal of this contentious element of the scheme.

“All traffic movements associated with the new car park will be focused upon the main Hospital entrance at Clifford Bridge Road and the scheme is not therefore considered to create any significant noise or disturbance to surrounding occupiers that would warrant refusal of the scheme.”

However, Mr D’Onofrio said UHCW has expressed “significant concern” that without the Farber Road exit to act as a ‘pressure relief valve’ at peak times, a single exit onto Clifford Bridge Road would create traffic congestion which could affect ‘blue light’ emergency vehicle access.

While highways bosses have raised no objections, planning officers have suggested a traffic survey is completed once the car park is operational to assess if there is any extra congestion at peak evening times.

No objections have also been raised by the Environment Agency regarding concerns over flooding.

The proposed car park is on a designated flood zone and a flood risk assessment carried out on behalf of developer Prime (UK) Developments Ltd identified the site is at ‘high risk’ of groundwater flooding due to the River Sowe and Withy Brook – even proposing ‘crash barriers’ to stop “unattended vehicles floating away”.

Neighbourhood group Walsgrave Community Forum have warned the fields are “prone to flooding every winter”, however Mr D’Onofrio believes ground levelling will ensure there is “no additional flood risk”, while the council’s drainage team said the applicant has demonstrated it is a “‘water compatible’ development”.

A planning committee was due to meet this week but upcoming planning committees have been postponed due to the coronavirus, with new dates yet to be set.

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Re: Hospital worker's TEN YEAR wait for a car parking space

Postby dutchman » Fri Jun 19, 2020 2:01 am

Huge car park approved at University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire despite objections

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A huge 1,600 space car park for the University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire is to be built after more than a decade of wrangling between developers, the council and residents.

The major new staff-only car park is to be built at the rear of the hospital to help ease pressure on the current parking facility, freeing up spaces for visitors.

Parking has been a “nightmare” at the site, councillors at a planning committee admitted, while highways officers said the move would help “reduce congestion” heading in.

But plans have proved controversial and led to years of campaigns from neighbouring residents.

Almost 500 people signed two petitions against the plans, presented to a planning committee by ward Cllr Kevin Maton who criticised the “failure to build multi-storey car parks”.

Planning permission for a multi-storey car park was approved in 2014 but development never commenced.

Campaigners argued the latest plan was a ‘short-term fix’, but hospital chief executive Andy Hardy - who said staff parking issues had left to recruitment problems - said it was the best option.

He said: “As our population grows and the challenge of meeting the health needs of our patients becomes more complex, we need to ensure the hospital can continue to provide outstanding care for the region.

“Without additional parking this is going to become increasingly difficult. The proposal you are considering today is the best solution we have to our parking issues and the essential stepping stone we need to go from a good hospital to a great one.”

A key concern in the plans was a time-controlled exit onto Farber Road which residents said would have pumped hundreds of cars through the “quiet” Mount Pleasant Estate.

The hospital said the exit would act as a ‘pressure-relief valve at peak times’ but it was removed by planning officers who found “no evidence” it was needed and preferred the main Clifford Bridge Road entrance.

Cllr Maton said residents feared a “salami-slicing approach” that could see the Farber Road exit return in a separate application.

Council planning policy manager Mark Andrews admitted: “We can’t sit here as officers and tell you you won’t get another application for that site.”

The site location also raised concern as it is on a designated flood zone near to the River Sowe and requires ‘crash barriers’ to stop “unattended vehicles floating away”.

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Re: Hospital worker's TEN YEAR wait for a car parking space

Postby dutchman » Thu Mar 17, 2022 5:19 pm

UHCW staff car park prices will rise to £50 a month by April

Staff car parking charges at University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) are set to increase by £7 per month. This would see doctors, surgeons nurses, midwives and more paying £50 a month to park at work.

A petition has been set up to try and revoke this change. It was set-up by a staff member on Tuesday night (March 15) and has nearly 10,000 signatures already. One UHCW member of staff, who wishes to remain anonymous, said the aim is to get as many signatures as possible before writing a letter to Andy Hardy, the hospital's CEO, asking him to reconsider.

If Mr Hardy doesn't reconsider, the increase will come into force on April 1, 2022. The staff member told CoventryLive this morning (March 17) all of the staff are "disgusted with this decision".

"We are already broken, exhausted and now this," they added. "Everywhere I turn, everyone cannot believe the trust has done this. It's disgraceful, everyone's angry, absolutely furious.

"We have just worked flat out on the frontline of a pandemic and this is how the trust rewards us."

The changes would also see night staff get parking for free. CoventryLive was told: "Night staff get paid more than people who work day shifts. They could probably afford the £50 but instead they're getting it for free. Even they don't understand why."

The UHCW NHS Trust sent an internal email on Tuesday, March 15, which said after "reviewing staff car parking arrangements" they have had to make the "difficult decision" as a result of "increased operation costs". The trust recently announced they had built a new 1,600 space car park which will be fully open by the end of the month (March).

The petition has been flooded with comments of support with claim the increase in permit prices is "unbelievable" and "bloody disgusting and immoral". You can sign the petition here.

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