Council bosses will allow some NHS staff to park at ’empty’ County Hall after discussions with NHS partners.
It comes at a time when nearly 2,000 people signed a petition calling for urgent action, led by the daughter of a seriously ill patient.
Cllr Katie Collier of the Green Party handed in the petition to Worcestershire County Council bosses yesterday (Thursday) as she called for County Hall car parks in Worcester to be opened up to hospital patients and their families.
In a joint statement from Councillor Marcus Hart, cabinet member with responsibility for Corporate Services and Communications, Worcestershire County Council, and a spokesperson for the Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust:
“While car park improvement work takes place at the Elgar Unit, NHS staff based at this site will temporarily use a number of allocated parking spaces at the council’s County Hall Campus. This is a temporary arrangement while essential works are carried out.
“It makes sense for both the NHS and the county council to work together to support staff parking arrangements, while the future use of County Hall is being discussed. The provision of these spaces is not expected to have an impact on the availability of parking for council staff.”
County Hall has been closed since Friday, June 21 last year when the legionella bacterium was found in the water supply, a problem compounded by parts of the building becoming inaccessible because of safety concerns over reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, known as ‘RAAC’.
The Leopard Hill city councillor spoke at the full Worcestershire County Council meeting at the Civic Centre in Pershore.
The mum-of-two said: “Congestion at Worcestershire Royal Hospital is a daily source of frustration for employees and local residents, and an additional source of stress and anguish for patients and their visitors.
“It is also worth considering the additional impact on air quality for patients, staff and local residents. A very short walk from the hugely congested hospital site is county hall, which for numerous issues has largely unused car parks.
“It seems nonsensical that a solution- even a temporary one- exists within the power of the county council and yet to date requests for visitors to the hospital to use the car parks have been refused.
“My family’s experience of this issue reflects the experiences of so many others. My dad has been seriously unwell for a few years now.
“He has had several prolonged stays in hospital, lasting some months. For my mum, travelling from Droitwich, inadequate public transport led to her being forced to drive and the congestion added stress at an already incredibly difficult time.
“I spoke recently with a midwife who works at the hospital, and works with families and premature babies.
“She disclosed that when disclosing these babies, they have to consider the time of day as they are aware that when congestion is at its peak these newborns and their families can be stuck in traffic for over an hour and a half, which could be dangerous.
“How horrific that families and hospital staff are having to consider this when making choices about care.