MSP presses hospital for solution to parking woes
A SENIOR politician has urged NHS Highland to find a solution quickly amid growing concern over Raigmore Hospital’s car park nightmare.
The 900-space free Inverness car park has reached saturation point and is no longer fit for purpose.
Anxious visitors including clinic patients close to tears can regularly be seen desperately circling the car park looking for a space, and many resort to abandoning their cars mid-aisle or on the grass so not to miss a vital appointment.
Fergus Ewing, SNP MSP for Inverness and Nairn, and cabinet secretary for the rural economy and connectivity, pointed out the problem is nothing new, and said he would be writing to NHS Highland urging them to find a solution.
"I know just how busy the Raigmore car park can be, and therefore shall write to the NHS management on this important matter," he said.
"Obviously there are a great many people who need to park near the hospital, such as patients and carers, as well as staff who work at the hospital.
"Many of the visitors, patients and carers come from a long distance away, and need to travel by car, and therefore need to be able to park their car somewhere close at hand.
"I understand that the NHS is working to find a solution, but the problem has been around for some time.
"I therefore urge the NHS further to work to find a solution to this problem, either by managing the existing car park, or by finding more space, or a combination of the two."
An NHS Highland spokeswoman said: "We recognise that parking at Raigmore Hospital does need to be addressed for all the reasons Mr Ewing states. We are actively costing a number of options which will allow us to increase space on the site.
"In addition, as part of a wider service redesign, it is also critical that we look at what services do not need to be provided at Raigmore and which would allow us to reduce the hospital footfall.
"For instance, our Transforming Outpatients project is looking at different ways of dealing with appointments, including video conferencing and reviewing return patient appointments, so patients don’t have to travel unnecessarily, which in turn will reduce pressures on parking."
Crawford Howat, hotel services manager at the 452-bed hospital, said: "Unfortunately over the years the hospital has got busier and with just over 1300 spaces across the Raigmore site, 900 of these in the main car park, parking has reached saturation point.
"We are looking at where we can create extra space and, once that is identified, what needs to be done before it can be used."
Asked if manning the car park might ensure better use of the spaces provided, and assist drivers to find any spaces, NHS Highland said: "It is something that we are looking at. Options to create extra space on site are being looked into and this includes costs.
"These are still being discussed so no one option has yet been agreed on."
It is claimed locally that motorists using the hospital car park as a park-and-ride are part of the problem.
Local woman Marion Breau posted an impassioned plea on Facebook to anyone parking at Raigmore without being on hospital business. It has attracted more than 1900 shares and 250 comments.
She has also launched a petition calling for people abusing the car park to go elsewhere. It has attracted more than 550 supporters.
Ms Breau, who has been regularly visiting a patient in the hospital, said: "The parking spaces are so precious to people visiting loved ones, attending appointments and employees. Worst case scenario: trying to be with a loved one in their final hours but driving round and round trying to find a space."
NHS Highland says it has no hard evidence of park-and-ride abuse.
The Inverness Courier staked out the car park and adjacent bus stop for 90 minutes up to 9am one morning last week and only one elderly motorist parked and got onto a bus to town with his empty shopping bag. It was also clear that from about 8.10am onward, the park was already so full that rogue parkers would have difficulty finding a space in time to catch any bus.