Phillip Herring, managing director at VINCI Park UK – a parking operator which develops and manages integrated parking solutions across a wide range of sectors – examines some of the key issues facing those working within healthcare estates and facilities teams responsible for parking policy and operations in their hospital or other healthcare facility, and discusses how the company has deployed its expertise to ‘ease some of the pressures’.
For many visitors and patients, the first and last impression of a hospital is its car park. With car ownership on the rise in the UK, car parking is going to from an increasingly important part of the overall planning and transport strategy for Trusts across the country.
The maintenance of parking spaces is an essential and potentially costly area for any NHS Trust, but including parking at the heart of future planning for hospital sites can have a significant impact on overall access, patient and visitor experience, staff morale, and the availability of space for core services.
Many NHS Trusts are already recognising the need for greater forward thinking when reviewing their transport and parking provision. Nonetheless, with recent Government estimates suggesting that the NHS needs to save a further £30 billion by 2021, austerity remains in force, and any costs, particularly on expensive infrastructure, must be clearly justified. In the face of a number of competing needs for limited overall funding, the case needs to be made for the positive impact which parking investment can have on Trusts, and how the investment of a private partner can help.
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