The hospital where I work is hard pressed for parking. So from 1st May they are implementing a blanket policy whereby all staff will be barred from parking on site for one day a week. On the day they can't park on site they are expected to use a park and ride (i.e. drive to outskirts of the city in question and then take the mini bus from there to work).
I don't particularly have a problem with this in principle, but - we have an on site day nursery for staff.....and staff users of that on site day nursery (i.e. includes me)are not granted an exemption. So effectively what they are asking me (and others) to do is drive to the outskirts of the city and then take our children (in my case when I return from mat leave in October a 6 month old baby and a just turned 2 year old)on the bus a couple of miles to the Hospital where we can plonk them in the on site Nursery and then start work. Well, I can't be fitting a 1st stage and 2nd stage car seat on the frigging bus morning and evening (and then refitting it in my car to do the final leg home)...its totally impractical..and I really don't think the rest of the workers on the bus will be too patient waiting whilst I spend 20 minutes faffing around with car seats. Heaven only knows where I am to stow the car seats when I get to work too, and how I am to carry 2 children plus 2 car seats from the bus to the entrance of the Day Nursery on arrival. I think there is a good case for staff users of the on site Day Nursery to be exempt from this policy.
When this issue was raised with our staff side representative ( a woman but a childless woman) she "Didn't see the issue"....Apparently she has seen "Lots of women using the number 10 bus with their tiny tots without using car seats". Now that really got my %$£"! blood boiling....I don't care what some other mums do - if they want to (sorry if I offend) risk their children that's up to them, but the hospital can't require me to risk my children (that's a very personal choice) and I would no more take them on a bus where I can't secure them in a proper car seat than fly to the frigging moon. Infant car seats aren't for merely decorative value or a fashion accessory - there to save lives aren't they???
What do you think of this? - and do any of you have any accident statistics I can quote about infant morbidity and mortality pre the introduction of child car seats?
(And if you happen to agree with the hospital and don't think on site nursery users should be granted an exemption, could you put it tactfully...because I am pregnant and hormonal at the moment and my bp needs to be kept stable)