New parking fees for hospital staff

[Northerner]

PARKING charges for all hospital staff could be introduced as soon as the autumn.
Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill Hospital in Cottingham, could charge its employees up to ?15 to park.

The proposals about the charges have been circulated to about 8,000 employees, with the trust looking to introduce them in autumn this year.
Some staff have been angered by the proposals, claiming it is a "stealth tax" on overworked employees.

http://www.thisishullandeastriding....start-autumn/story-19561317-detail/story.html

 

[Royston46]

Im not surprised the staff are angry most other people would be angry if they had to pay to park at work !!!!!

I also think it is so expensive for the public to park at hospital as well 😡

 

[Northerner]

Im not surprised the staff are angry most other people would be angry if they had to pay to park at work !!!!!

I also think it is so expensive for the public to park at hospital as well 😡

It's effectively a pay cut for the employees, which will hit those who are particularly low paid who may have no other way to get to work.

Having said that, where I used to work it astounded me that many people chose to come to work in their cars and park at up to ?15 a DAY even though many of them lived in my area - some even on my street! I used to walk in and run home, cost me nothing! Some people have become so dependent on their cars these days. Makes me think back to my earlier days in Sheffield where public transport was heavily subsidised on the rates. There was a bus every 4 minutes on the most popular routes, down to maybe 15-30 mins. and places like hospitals well-served throughout the night. Services were so cheap that people used them in preference to their cars, so those that did need cars encountered far less traffic on the roads.

Then Thatcher decreed that buses shouldn't receive subsidies, fares rose 2,000% and everyone stopped using them. Roads became clogged with cars, much more pollution from all the cheapskate bus companies that sprang up using knackered old vehicles. Low paid workers could no longer afford to travel any distance to work. And did the rates come down? Of course they didn't!

 

[Royston46]

better public transport is needed like investment in tram schemes etc 🙂

 

[Northerner]

better public transport is needed like investment in tram schemes etc 🙂

As long as they are well-thought through. The Supertram in Sheffield was a bit of a disaster, certainly at the time. The whole city was brought practically to a standstill for 2 years with road closures and consequent traffic jams - a 15 minute journey could easily (and often) take 2 hours Also, although the trams were lovely and comfortable, the routes were chosen to visit all the high-population areas of the city - this would have been a good idea, if not for the fact that they had to stop at every stop regardless of whether there were any passengers wanting to board or alight, so a journey of any distance would take forever.

Proper planning and investment is required and would do far more for the economy than HS2, but it's never going to happen. I thought David Blunkett might have done something in the last Labour govt. given that he used to leader of Sheffield City Council during the subsidised years, but no, nothing

 

[LeeLee]

Many hospitals have been charging for staff parking for years, as part of their 'green' or 'active travel' plans, with the charges going towards improved cycle facilities and showers.

 

[Royston46]

As long as they are well-thought through. The Supertram in Sheffield was a bit of a disaster, certainly at the time. The whole city was brought practically to a standstill for 2 years with road closures and consequent traffic jams - a 15 minute journey could easily (and often) take 2 hours Also, although the trams were lovely and comfortable, the routes were chosen to visit all the high-population areas of the city - this would have been a good idea, if not for the fact that they had to stop at every stop regardless of whether there were any passengers wanting to board or alight, so a journey of any distance would take forever.

Proper planning and investment is required and would do far more for the economy than HS2, but it's never going to happen. I thought David Blunkett might have done something in the last Labour govt. given that he used to leader of Sheffield City Council during the subsidised years, but no, nothing

Hi Alan,

Take your point regarding Sheffield tram scheme but think this has improved greatly. Im originally from Nottingham and the tram scheme there is great and they are currently expanding this with two new line to give access to other parts of the city.

The governement are always banging on about getting people out of cars and the only way to do this is to have better publi transport links that also connect.🙂

 

[Copepod]

The big problem for some hospital staf who work shifts and / or weekends is that public transport isn't always possible - if you have to travel to arrive to start work at, say 0700, or have to leave after 2100, then buses / trains / trams may not be possible. It's of no consequence is the other journey is served by public transport, as you can't leave car on hospital premises until next day.

However, for some people, car sharing / walking / cycling can work. The other aspect is that charging for parking on hospital premises can increase pressure for parking in nearby residential streets. In some places eg Addenbrookes in Cambridge, many workers park at Park & Ride sites and then take bus / ride bike (left & P&R between shifts) / walk the 1 - 3 miles (depending on which site they use), which works out cheaper than parking on site (if they can get a space at all) and can be quicker overall.

 

[FM001]

A consultant on ?100k a year will barely notice the parking charges, a different story for a porter or cleaner on the minimum wage getting ?13k.

 

[LeeLee]

Both the hospital Trusts that I've worked for had a sliding scale of staff parking charges, depending on salary.

 

[Redkite]

Perhaps there should be free parking for those working early/late shifts where there may be no public transport or just unsafe to be travelling alone at that hour.

 

[Northerner]

Perhaps there should be free parking for those working early/late shifts where there may be no public transport or just unsafe to be travelling alone at that hour.

Sounds like a better idea, less demand on the car parks at those times I would have thought also. 🙂

 

[Hanmillmum]

Sounds like a better idea, less demand on the car parks at those times I would have thought also. 🙂

Hmm, problem is there is the cross-over period between the early and late shift - a good hour or so for hand over. (Avoid visiting hospitals at said time, you won't get parked). Incidentally we've had staff charged for past 10 years on sliding scale for salary at all our local hospitals. Consequently parking restrictions were imposed around the streets nearby as residents couldn't get near their own homes.

 

[Aoife]

The Trust I work for has charged staff for parking for years but they don't guarantee a space to park in!. The charges are dependent on your income and whether you are full or part time.

On top of professional registration fees and union fees work is quite an expensive pastime!