Desperate health workers have won their years-long battle to park in Aberdeen Royal Infirmary’s multi-storey building – amid threats of a mass walkout from the hospital.
NHS employees have been pleading for the change for some time, with some staff saying they’ve had to arrive hours before their shift just to snare themselves a space in the busy car park.
Hospital workers have been allowed to park in the Lady Helen building since the pandemic, but it had been due to revert back to being for visitors and patients only – as intended when it was built.
Council chiefs have now allowed the permanent change – after hearing a range of concerns directly from affected health workers…
Why is there a parking problem at ARI?
When the Lady Helen parking centre was opened across from the main entrance in 2018, it was under strict conditions to make it easier for patients and visitors to get a space.
The 13-level facility has room for 1,259 cars.
As they were allowed to use the sixth level and above, staff were granted access to 776 of those spaces.
The change came about during the pandemic, to reduce the risk of infection by workers travelling on public transport.
The leeway was said to be on a “temporary basis” though, and scores of the 8,000-strong workforce had since been worried about being banned.
By last April, health chiefs were persuaded to tweak the rules – but official consent was still required from the local authority.
In total, 174 letters of support were then sent to the council, many of them from nurses and doctors at ARI, calling for the change.
These pleas laid bare the drastic consequences that could come if staff parking was removed from the multi-storey.
Why were staff unhappy with ARI parking?
Rhona McMenemin has worked at ARI for more than 20 years and claims the city campus has the “worst parking” she has ever experienced.
“Opening up the Lady Helen has made a huge difference and has minimised the stress of trying to get the car parked and get to clinics to see patients on time,” she stated.
“It is hard enough getting folk to relocate up here without giving them nowhere to park.”
‘I tried walking in from Bridge of Don’
Stephanie Masson works at the medical campus and lives in Bridge of Don.
The NHS employee revealed she tried walking to work once but the journey lasted about 90 minutes each way.
The Foresterhill site is surrounded by a controlled parking zone, meaning it’s for residents who pay to park outside their homes – further exacerbating the issue.
And some staff claim the situation has caused rising tensions.
In the past, Stephanie has parked on nearby streets but faced the wrath of angry residents, who she claims defaced her car with permanent markers.
She said: “If parking goes back to being restricted and they return to a permit system again I would seriously consider working in an alternative sector.
“The daily stress of worrying where to park and whether my car is safe is not worth it.”
Are rogue parkers making situation worse?
Union bosses say they have had “thousands of staff, patients and visitors” get in touch over the issue.
Unison argued that the building is “rarely” full but called for action to ensure it is not being used illicitly.
They said: “Rarely does it currently come close to being full, though there are clearly some non-NHS related cars using the facility, and this should be addressed.”
‘No parking. No staff’
The group added: “However, as a trade union our major concern is for the welfare of staff and the service the NHS provides.
“Many, many staff are clear that if they cannot drive to work, then this would cause major, often insurmountable, problems for them.
“There would be a significant increase in stress, on a working group already with significant wellness issues.
“They would have to leave employment at the Foresterhill site and seek work elsewhere.
“No Parking, No Staff.”
Worker Jason Addicoat-Smith, from Gartly, said he relies on the multi-storey “on a daily basis”.
He added: “Commute-wise, I drive over an hour from home each day, leaving me with no alternative transportation options.
“Being unable to utilize this essential resource would significantly impact both myself and my wife.”
‘I felt unsafe walking to my car’
The union also raised fears for female staff having to walk some distance to reach their vehicles after finishing late shifts.
“Many female staff have major safety concerns walking in the dark, even on-site.” they added.
Dr Emily Stephen backed this up in her letter of support.
She said: “Prior to being able to use the multi-storey, I had to park far away from the building and have had multiple occasions of feeling unsafe trying to get back to my car, when finishing shifts at 10pm and midnight.
“NHS staff face constant pressure within their role at the moment and the stress of not being able to get to work easily heavily compounds this.”
What did the council decide to do?
Council chiefs took the side of NHS staff – saying they weighed up the options and agreed with health workers.
The report on the wrangle said the change would help alleviate staff parking on streets, and ease the burden on ARI employees.
Have you ever had trouble getting parked at the ARI multi-storey? Let us know in our comments section below
But this didn’t come without concessions…
Local authority bosses put a two-year timescale on the change – meaning it could revert back to visitors and patients only in 2027.
And workers will still only be able to park on the sixth floor and above, meaning the bottom 490 spaces would be exclusively for patients and visitors.
NHS chiefs will monitor the car park for the next 24 months, and if their data comes back positive then the new rules would be here to stay.
An NHS Grampian spokeswoman added: “This valuable facility was built for the benefit of patients and visitors, and we remain committed to that.
“We believe careful traffic management will ensure it can be shared with our hardworking staff without any detriment to the public.”
You can see the plans on the Aberdeen City Council website.
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