As from Monday, April 20, 2015, we are introducing changes to the current parking charges and permits in operation at both hospitals.
We know that the current permit allocation is oversubscribed and required a complete review and reallocation to make it as fair as possible for all colleagues.
Last year we undertook an engagement exercise with colleagues which resulted in 93 form responses and 104 emails. These highlighted the key actions to improve car parking as:
- Improvement of traffic flow around sites
- Creation of additional parking bays
- A consistent and more rational approach to car park enforcement.
- Improved outpatient clinical services by ensuring prioritised clinicians can park and attend clinics.
- A set criteria for permit allocation that is impartial and ceases the over-subscription of car parks.
As a result we are implementing some changes across all of our car parks. Here’s a summary of the new developments.
- New permits 2015
We are asking all car parking permit holders to reapply and these will be considered under new criteria to achieve a fairer distribution of permits. These new considerations include:
- home to work distance must be more than 1.5 miles
- family demands as part of the work/life balance
- access to public transport
- out of hours/on call staff will be given priority
- colleagues at CRH – who work Mon-Fri 0800-1800 - will be offered a permit that will allow them to park on the Eureka site and utilise the Trust Park and Ride scheme. This will create up to 80 additional parking spaces at the CRH site.
The permit request form can be found on the intranet at Click here
The form should be completed and returned via e mail to car.parking@cht.nhs.uk or by internal post to:The Travel Dept, HRI. All completed applications need to be returned no later than Friday, 5 June 2015.
2. Permit charges
- The cost of a fulltime permit will rise to £22 and this will commence when the new permit has been issued. This keeps us in line with other Trusts and enables us to still be able to offer value on-site parking for colleagues. (For Eureka permit holders it remains at £16).
- Permits will no longer be allocated to specific designated areas. All general permit holders will be able to park in all staff designated areas.
- All fulltime staff will pay £22 including accessible parking badge holders
- The part-time rate will remain the same at £11.
3. Priority parking
As we have fewer spaces than demand it has been decided to introduce a new priority rating. Upon completion, priority permits will be issued to senior clinical colleagues who need to be at both sites to deliver care to our patients
To improve priority capacity at CRH, 10 extra spaces will be provided for priority permit holders. This will ensure that cross-site colleagues can easily access the sites to ensure they deliver care to our patients.
4. General parking charges for non-permit holders, patients and visitors.
Our public car parking charges will rise in line with other trusts. There will be a 30-minute free drop off time; then £2.50 for the first 2 hours; £5 up to four hours; £6 for six hours and £7 for up to 24 hours.This will be paid by all non-permit holders, patients and visitors including blue badge holders. The usual exemptions for people on benefits or low incomes will continue to apply. Where families receive concessionary parking for extended visiting - with an agreement with the ward - this will continue.
More information
- We will continue working with the highways agency to improve the car parking space at CRH and increase the number of available parking bays as well as improve traffic flow throughout the site.
- Designated motorcycle spaces will be introduced.
- We look into improving the surface and lighting on the Acre Mill car park.
- We will continue to enforce the “Car Parking Rules” as detailed in the Trust Car Parking Policy. In response to feedback, our Traffic Officers will be trained and instructed to assess each car parking rule breach as and when it occurs and where possible, try to establish the reason for the breach. Should the reason for the breach be clearly proven to be a response to situations of clinical urgency, the Traffic Officer will not issue a parking notice. If it is not possible to establish the reason at the time, a parking notice will be issued and the member of staff will have the opportunity to appeal through the agreed process.
- We will work closely with the Trust’s car parking contractor to ensure the above principals are applied to each appeal and will require them to consult with the Trust car parking management team before an appeal is rejected for any case that potentially relates to situations of clinical urgency.
Green incentives & future developments
- Incentives for car sharing will be awarded to staff who undertake this form of travel.
- Secure cycle storage will be sought and adequate facilities provided to meet staff’s needs.
- Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) systems will be introduced site wide, Acre Mill is currently trialling such a system which will help us establish a process to implement ANPR systems. We know that ANPR systems help to reduce human error from car parking enforcement decisions and improve traffic flow.
If you have questions email: car.parking@cht.nhs.uk