A better first experience for patients and visitors

Given that the first experience many patients and visitors have of a hospital is the car park, ensuring that parking in such facilities is as stress-free, smooth, and convenient as possible is a high priority for healthcare estates teams. Here, Mark Anfield, Operations director at car park management specialist, ParkingEye, explains how the company has deployed ‘next generation’ parking technology to greatly improve the car parking experience at the Manchester Royal Infirmary site.

Each week thousands of patients travel from across the UK to attend hospitals operated by Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust. The Trust provides a diverse and complex range of healthcare services, with nine hospitals on six separate sites offering a range of medical treatment and support – ranging from children’s dialysis to outpatient dental care. 

Today, visitors enjoy a stress-free car parking experience at the Manchester Royal Infirmary thanks to ParkingEye, and a free-flow ANPR solution which enables a seamless journey to the more important part of their day – their visit. However, only 12 months ago, the story was very different. People visiting the hospital were facing queues, finding it difficult to secure a space, and experiencing problems paying, amid regular breakdowns to the barrier system, which all combined to create frustration and stress. Tom Higgins, Car Parking and Security manager responsible for 17 sites, explains the challenges the Trust was facing: “Our board was aware that we were dealing with a multitude of problems caused by the parking system we had in place at the Manchester Royal Infirmary. The situation was starting to detrimentally impact the experience of patients and visitors to the hospital. On average, we welcome 250,000 cars through the site each month, and needed to ensure that we were providing as smooth a start to the journey with the Trust as possible, whatever the reason for visiting.