28 September 2009

Hospital Parking

| harvyk1
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If you’ve ever gone anywhere near the Canberra Hospital during the day you’ll know that parking is abysmal. Whilst the obvious solution is to build more car parks, which I understand is something the hospital is looking at doing, right now car parks are non-existent for everyone but the luckiest of people.

Whilst this can be annoying if you have to attend the hospital frequently to see other patients or doctors for scheduled appointments you usually know about the parking problems in advance and can make other arrangements (such as turn up early \ taxi \ bus \ walk). But what about those people who need to get to hospital for unscheduled things?

What if the hospital provided a car park for the use of patients who need to go to emergency or maternity (for non-scheduled reasons). You already have to register at either maternity or emergency when you arrive as a patient. So it would be fairly simple to provide a patient with a parking pass which will let you out of the gate when you leave (or a family \ friend takes your car away). If you don’t register with either department or you don’t have a valid reason (visit a patient or a scheduled appointment would not be a valid reason) you’ll need to pay a large fee (I’m personally thinking in the hundreds) before you can get your car back.

What are people’s thoughts?

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gun street girl6:23 pm 17 Nov 09

Danman said :

I now time my hiatuses from the hospital to end after 1230 so I can use my wifes proxy cards to park on the helipad, as before 1230 its hierarchical and only doctors can park there.

It’s not so much hierarchical as it is designed to have the helipad available to workers who finish work after business hours (thusly not having them walk too far from the building at night). Nurses on morning shift, therefore, are not allowed to enter that area, because it’s assumed they clock off in the afternoon – the boomgate only opens to those who clock in for afternoon, evening or nightshift. Doctors routinely clock in in the morning, but often don’t leave the hospital until late in the evening, so they exempted from the assumption of a set shift – the boomgate opens all hours on their proxy cards.

Pedantry aside, congrats on the new addition. 😉

Congratulations on the birth Danman

Just thought I would add to this thread by saying I parked in the 2 hour parking out front of maternity on Sunday (Before anyone bleets about improper use of parking facilities, my wife was late in her term and had a 38 hour labor) and returned to my car yesterday after 36 hours and got no ticket.

I now time my hiatuses from the hospital to end after 1230 so I can use my wifes proxy cards to park on the helipad, as before 1230 its hierarchical and only doctors can park there.

Maybe a coincidence, but since the price rise on 1 July, car parks have been easier to come by in Woden. Are all the workers taking the all day spots at the hospital (if such things exist)

grunge_hippy5:51 pm 29 Sep 09

as far as i know, they didn’t get out of it, even though they tried. I would imagine everyone who got a parking ticket at the hospital would have some sob story, or make up one due to the location, thinking that exact same thing and i think they take a dim view because of it.

easier just to nip down for 5 mins and move it, which is what hubby did 4 years ago, which felt like the longest 5 mins of my life. this time, its going to take much longer because its fair across the other side of the hospital… IF he can find a park! here’s hoping i go into labour late at night again.

Raging Tempest2:06 pm 29 Sep 09

From memory, working in the Hospital Admin 15 years ago, nothing short of being the person in labour or being admitted to emergency surgery would be considered as extenuating circumstances. It is hard to prove that there was absolutely no time to move a car; eg labour usually goes for hours and the contractions aren’t continuous, so there are opportunities for a birth partner to move the car.
As for the OP, I think people will find illegal parking, or park on peoples nature strips across the road to avoid paying. At the moment the parking is free, and we all know that Canberrans will avoid paying for parking whenever they can.

Surely there would be leniency if you chase up the fine after the fact – I mean laws are black and white, but there is a certain amount of discretion involved in applying them…

If you can prove without a fact that you had absolutely no time or anyone available to move the car then surely they would exercise empathy when applying the law.

Dont be fooled into thinking that only clients of the hospital face parking dramas either.

grunge_hippy9:38 am 29 Sep 09

i wouldnt bet on it. My brother got a ticket while his mrs is in labour, because he couldn’t get down to move it. When I had my 4 year old, you could park under the helipad, but now that is for staff only.

If you have support people, then good on you, but at 2am, who’s gonna come move your car? There is 2 hour parking out front, 15 min parking for a drop off. not that there is parking inspectors at 2am, but after upteen hours of labour, i doubt someones first priority is to move the car once the inspectors start roaming…

not to mention trying to waddle to maternity before labour for check ups when the pissy little carpark is always full.

I’m sure if katy was having another baby, it wouldn’t be this way!

54-11

There is parking at the door of maternity that is purpose built for urgent arrivals.

Albeit only 15 minute parking, I am sure if you left your car there longer than that you will get by.

Ill be parking and leaving my car there – then one of our support team* will be moving it for me to a more suitable location

* close individuals who will be present for the birth, but in the waiting room, not the birthing suite..

What’s happened is that Katie Gallagher and ACT Health have spat the dummy because community pressure brought about the demise of pay parking.

They are now bloody-mindedly ensuring that everyone pays for making her do this backflip – hence stuff-all casual parking, and the nine-storey proposal.

Katie says : “I’ll learn you…”

grunge_hippy8:12 pm 28 Sep 09

the stupid thing now is you cant park on the maternity side long term. that means in 7 weeks when i go into labour, my husband is going to have to drop me at the door, drive all the way to the other side of the hospital while i try and hang on…

Trunking symbols4:03 pm 28 Sep 09

I’ve got an idea, why don’t they build a nine-storey car park there? Oh, wait on . . .

Rawhide Kid No 23:11 pm 28 Sep 09

“right now car parks are non-existent for everyone but the luckiest of people.”

Luckiest people!! Who are these people, where do they live??

Have they looked at sattelite parking and shuttle buses yet? They can work if they’re regular enough… but can be freaky if you’re stuck on them at night

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