NHS parking dilemma

[Buniadot]

Let me preface this that I am grateful to all the NHS workers for their hard work and dedication to their job.

I've wanted to start this thread as I've recently seen numerous debates about this on social media. Oftentimes someone's complaining that NHS workers are parking their cars on residential streets where parking is available at the trust. The post usually has a plethora of comments ranging from those agreeing it's a nuisance to those saying it's reasonable.

I have made a few observations myself, I am aware that they may make me sound like an AH but they seem the most logical to me.

• if parking is available at the workplace then it should be used (whether free or not)
• to address expensive parking, almost all workplaces don't offer free parking, doesn't matter what industry. A lot of workers aside from NHS, pay for parking and live.
• to address antisocial hours, as above, there are other industries that won't necessarily have free parking and have to pay for it
• the NHS offers good job stability in this day and age (always understaffed so not much chance of losing your job, they need you), fantastic pension, the pay isn't great but also not out of the norm, discounts for on site nurseries etc, overall don't the benefits outweigh the cost of parking?
• to clarify, I do understand if there's no parking available then absolutely look for an alternative but I find it cheeky to use residential roads when there's ample parking available at some trusts.
• I can see why people get frustrated with there being no space near their house because of people that work. Now before people say 'buy a house with a drive' it's sometimes not possible, some get house by council and are grateful for what they have, or some that own their house may not be able to afford one with a driveway. It's cheaper to pay for parking at your workplace thank buy a house with a driveway.

So, AITA for thinking that being an NHS worker doesn't exempt you from paying for parking and you should be more considerate to residents in the area?

I hope we can all have a discussion about your views.

YABU. You can’t have a system where anybody can park on public roads unless they are NHS scum. NHS staff don’t have to shove over to be nice so other people have more space on the public roads. Unless there is also a scheme where NHS staff don’t have to pay tax then I’ll be using the services just like anyone else.

I work in my local hospital but it’s inaccessible to me by public transport as it is outside of a small town and I live outside of an even smaller town nearby, so it’s a bus to my town, a bus between towns and then a third bus to the hospital. It is with 3 separate bus companies so not doable with a travel card and the timetables don’t join up. It’s around about 90mins on the bus and I would arrive 2 hours after my start time at the earliest. I wouldn’t be able to get home until the next day - too late to catch the bus back again. It would cost more in a week in bus fares than I spend in a month in petrol. My friend in my nearest city works in a big teaching hospital with a tram stop and a shuttle bus. The shuttle bus doesn’t work for shift patterns. You can’t park overnight at the tram park and ride so you can’t use the tram on a night shift. Public transport needs to work before you ban NHS staff from the roads.

It’s not normal in the private sector for businesses with parking to charge staff. It is normal for people working in city centres to have to pay for parking if they choose to drive in but this also applies to city centre hospitals with no parking. Realistically you can’t magic up car parks in the middle of cities for NHS staff but the difficulties of shift work should be recognised. If you are expected to start or finish at a time when you can’t access the hospital on public transport and also can’t park then their should be some help (mini buses/ taxis) because the ballache and the expense of it contributes to lack of retention in acute trusts,

Los of people live near places where people park. People live near high streets, schools, religious buildings, train stations etc. Other people are part of life.

I used a private day nursery 20 mins walk, 5 min drive. No NHS on-site nursery. No priority. I fact I had to see my abusive ex more often due to my shift times before I switched jobs.

NHS worker here and pay for parking, £28 a month. We are not guaranteed a space, when we do get a space at home time it can take around 30 minutes to get off the hospital site. For these reasons I’m considering handing back my staff permit and parking in a residential street close by.

Our trust wil not allow staff to use the hospital parking.

So we PAY for residents parking £15 per shift, I then pay for resident parking where I live £190 per year. After a day shift I can NEVER park in my road and end up with 10 minute walk.

So, no. I'm not exempt from parking.

I agree with everything you've put here, I'm waiting on a reply from our council re parking permits for our road as well.

Give it ten years and there won't be an NHS to bash. Then watch em throw a tantrum!!!

I'm also waiting for a reply from council re parking permits, it's mostly workers from town that cause the issue here but same principle applies.

OP what is your problem, really? If you think nhs perks are so great apply for a job. But for goodness sake stop whinging,

British cities are a mess.

As in other Anglo countries (such as the US, Oz, NZ, Canada), Britain has the cultural preference for private cars, driving, detached houses with gardens and low-level low-density buildings, and a cultural aversion to public transport, walking/biking, higher building heights and densities, apartment living etc.

But unlike the other Anglo countries, the UK does not have much space per person to build all the roads and parking needed, and does have a lot of old, pretty town centers which it has never wanted to tear down to build huge urban car parks and great big multi-lane ring roads.

So the UK is stuck right in the middle - everyone is hopelessly dependent on cars, and yet there is nowhere to park or drive them. Hence, clogged roads, potholes and parking wars.

Thank you, it seems counterintuitive to have staff car parks where staff can't actually park.

When I had to work anti-social hours in another industry (anything after 8pm counted) the company paid for me to get a taxi to and from home.

NHS workers have the same entitlement to any member of the public to park in public roads, if people want them not to they should make the alternative easier and cheaper so that they choose not to exercise that right.

Thought I might be to some people.
Though I welcome different opinions.

In my trust, staff are not allowed to park in the visitors car park and pay. We do have P&R but there has been issues with the reliability of the buses and it adds extra time on to an already very long shift. So people do park on local roads. I live within walking distance fortunately, but all the roads are double parked.

I’m nhs and work at different sites. For off-site parking 2 days a week (I don’t qualify for on site), I pay £28 a month salary sacrifice. I also have a 20 minute walk from this parking location but it’s the closest I can get.

For 2 days at the other site, on site due to journey time being an hour, I pay £4.60 twice a week.

so it’s £64.80 per month for parking.

As I have to travel to different locations, so there’s occasions I’m paid for my 20 minute walk during my working hours, which seems madness but clearly not enough to give me on site parking.

I think this is a reasonable test though, taking into account personal circumstances and other transport options.

The problem with people being allowed to park on residential streets is this: people understandably don’t want to live in traffic sewers, and avoid living in areas near schools….or hospitals… or daycare nurseries….or stations…or…. (“Well, surely you knew what it would be like, living near an XYZ? That’s why I chose an estate further out of town!”)

The system is therefore literally punishing people who live near facilities that they might like to use themselves, and rewarding those who live further away….which then encourages more sprawl and pushes everyone to drive more and more for their everyday needs.

Vicious circle.

To get out of this trap, British cities need to start off by doing something about parking, but the transition is likely to be painful, because it requires unpicking several decades of urban development.

Do you know how much it costs to park at a hospital for a 12hr shift? It wouldn't be worth working. Plus, if the thousands of NHS staff park in the visitors' car park, you will just have patients parking on the residential streets instead.

We aren't allowed to park in the visitor/ patient areas. Staff areas are full by 8 am. People then triple park / park on grass, under trees, any space they can find and leave their number on their dashboard

@Buniadot so my main base has 2500 employees and 400 parking spaces. It’s done on where you live etc. technically I shouldn’t be given any parking as I can walk to work. It’s a 45 minute walk and I often have to go to meetings at other locations so a 45 minute walk really isn’t a good use of my work time.

I’m not sure we massively mind paying, but often we’re simply not allowed to park on site.

Why take a job if you can't get there without inconveniencing others?
Much cheaper to pay for parking than buy a new house or find a new place to rent (think deposit and first months rent)

YATA just for this. On site nurseries? Maybe on Grey's Anatomy, not in any NHS hospital I've ever heard of. Also the pension isn't fantastic any more.
DC have been at two different on site nurseries with NHS staff rates.

At King's the nursery is only for the children of staff or KCL students and is already subsidised to be a bit cheaper. At Ashford (part of East Kent and the same at Margate and Canterbury, the other two main sites) the on site nursery is open to anyone but there is a NHS staff rate that is cheaper than the standard one.

I thought nurseries were pretty standard at hospitals.

if parking is available at the workplace then it should be used (whether free or not)

Absolutely ludicrous suggestion.

If I have the choice of a) paying to park, or b) parking for free, albeit outside the house of some tit who doesn't understand the rules of the roads we ALL pay for... are you seriously saying I should choose the first one?

They are not and they are getting rarer and rarer. I live in a big city with loads of hospitals and only one still has an on-site nursery and this is no longer an NHS-owned nursery either, it's now a private provider (and part of a national chain).

Strangers' convenience or lack thereof does not and would not enter my head when considering whether to apply for a job.

@DappledThings definitely not standard. Are they open long hours to cover standard nursing shifts? I'm curious

Hopelessly naive, but I genuinely think that all parking should be free.

The Trafford Centre manage it. Brent Cross manage it. Yet somehow when I park in town it's £8 for 3 hours?!

Liverpool Women's Hospital used to be £2 on exit, so affordable even if they were there for days. Now it's a 'normal' hourly rate. Why can't it be standardised across all sites to be like this?

Aintree hospital had free parking during Covid. Now it's back to normal.

(some of that possibly irrelevant but just wanted to say that it should ALL be free!)