Hospitals regularly suffer with high numbers of cars arriving at site, with their drivers wanting to use onsite parking, resulting in a higher demand for car parking spaces than is actually available. Here Simon Bourke, Healthcare Sector lead for global professional services firm, RPS Group, looks at the key considerations, and at some of the key steps in developing an effective Travel Plan, with a focus on the positive outcomes resulting from doing this at two large acute NHS Trusts.
The Sustainable Development Unit estimates that the NHS’s 1.3 million staff, patients, and visitors each day account for approximately 5% of road traffic in England. The SDU recognises that the sheer volume of this traffic not only slows people down, but also affects the environment, road safety, and access times for the critically ill, encourages more sedentary lifestyles, and makes up about a fifth of the NHS carbon footprint. Equally, the public may find it difficult, or be unable to, park in a convenient place close enough to where they need to access care, or to visit friends or family being cared for in a hospital or other healthcare facility.
Traffic congestion, and high volumes of traffic, also affect staff if they can’t easily access their place of work, or face high parking charges. An extreme example of this was at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff, where car parking was managed by an independent operator. Although staff were allocated designated spaces, finding a free space was often problematic. resulting in them using paid parking spots but not buying a ticket. The car park operator took the staff to court, and won the case, with £150,000 being awarded in fines
Significant administration costs
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