By Holly Callender

THE closure of a temporary car park with the loss of almost 600 spaces at Glasgow's super-hospital has added hours to the day of some essential staff who have to rely on their cars to get to work. Others have had to sleep in their cars to ensure they can make their shifts.

The Thales car park on spare land next to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital was granted temporary planning permission by Glasgow City Council to bridge the gap between the hospital opening and completion of the three onsite multi-storey car parks. The final one was completed last month and Thales closed last week, but staff claim that a rigid permit system for the officially-provided spaces means many nurses and ancillary staff do not qualify while floors of the car parks are virtually empty.

Staff can apply for a permit through a car-sharing scheme and, since October 5, if they live more than 20 miles from the hospital. However those inside the boundary who work unsociable hours and cannot rely on public transport must drive to work.

But over-zealous parking wardens, it's claimed, are even turning away legitimate permit holders who find themselves unable to comply with the permit rules due to shift patterns.

To gain entry to the multi-storey car parks staff must show a permit to a CP Plus parking warden. Wardens only allow entry for car share permit holders if there are at least two people in the car, but due to the nature of hospital shift patterns it is not possible to car share every day.

One nurse said: “This week, I wasn’t on with the girl who I car share with at all, so I had to find a space in the non-permit car park, and had to leave earlier [in the morning].”

“The car park wardens are really strict,” another nurse said. “Two of them man the entrance, and every time I go up they ask to see my permit. They make us drive to the top floor, and we pass two empty floors on the way.

“There are also wardens on the second and third floors, checking who is parking there. There are a handful of cars on these two floors. It honestly feels like you are doing something wrong, parking at your work. And we’ve got a permit. It’s a mess, and very unfair. The staff are getting treated the worst.”

Staff car parking has been an ongoing issue at the hospital. When it opened last July, there were just 3,000 parking spaces for the 10,000 staff, with onsite parking prioritised for patients and visitors. This led to the private construction company, Ogilvie, charging staff a £4 parking fee on their spare land adjacent to the hospital.

An online petition opposing the non-permit and free-to-use Thales car park closure attracted over 1,400 signatures in less than a week. NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said in a statement: “The use of this car park was introduced as a temporary measure until our multi-storey car parks were complete and this was made clear to staff who chose to park there.”

Adding: “It remains an objective of the board to reduce dependency on car journeys where reasonable and promote public transport as an alternative mode of transport."

“Their answer to everything is to get public transport,” said one nurse. “It’s only a viable option if you live in the West End or city centre.”

By using public transport many staff claim it adds at least two hours onto an already long day, over and above personal safety and cost concerns.

One nurse claimed: “If I were to get the train, I’d be waiting for one at an unstaffed station at 6am. I don’t fancy that on a pitch-black winter morning. It’s cheaper and safer for me to use my car.”

Some have tried public transport but found it too much. “It meant getting up at 5am and not getting home until after 9pm. I couldn’t do it.”

Another said: “To get to the hospital for 7am, I would have to leave the night before.”

A senior nurse commented: “There’s so many empty spaces in the multi-storey car parks, but we just can’t get in to use them.”

CP Plus were contacted but did not respond.

The first week of the Thales closure also coincided with the Autumn half-term break, with many staff off on holiday. While staff are waiting for the full force of the closure next week, it’s already having noticeable effects in increased traffic congestion.

Matt McLaughlin, regional organiser for Unison, stressed the Glasgow City Council and Health Board’s failing in implementing sufficient staff car parking.

He said: “The bottom line is that the site has thousands of workers and visitors at it every day, and there is inadequate parking provided.”

“The staff are providing essential services. The situation is completely disgraceful.”