BIBBY CALLS FOR MORE PARKING SPACES AT THE RAH

Neil Bibby MSP has called on NHS Greater Glasgow and the Scottish Government to provide significant additional car parking spaces for patients, staff and visitors at Paisley’s RAH.

Over the last week there has been parking chaos in and around the hospital after a barrier has been used to prohibit staff from parking at the hospital. Mr Bibby has met with GMB and UNISON trade unions, written to the Health Board Chief Executive and has also requested an urgent meeting with health board officials.

Mr Bibby said “I have been contacted by many RAH staff with serious concerns about the impact of new parking arrangements at the hospital. Our RAH staff do a fantastic job in difficult circumstances and our local hospital can’t run without them.

The woeful lack of car parking at the RAH for staff, patients and visitors has been an issue for several years. It is unacceptable, it has been ignored for too long and the status quo is not an option.

However, the Health Board must ensure the solution to the problem is the right one. The parking chaos we have seen over the last few days, if continued, will impact on local residents, and on patients if staff are forced to park far away and can’t get to their work on time.

The Health Board have claimed that the RAH is “well served” with parking spaces but I know that local people strongly disagree that this is the case.

It is clear that the solution needed is for there to be additional parking for staff, patients and visitors on the hospital grounds and that must be initiated as a matter of urgency. The Scottish Government has spent £842 million on the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Glasgow whilst cutting services from our local hospital – it’s about time Paisley’s RAH got the investment it deserves.

The Health Board should halt the use of the barrier until they have reviewed its effectiveness over the last few days and completed a full consultation with staff on the future of parking arrangements at the hospital.

I am also calling on the Health Board and the Scottish Government to immediately carry out a full assessment of where more parking spaces could be provided on the hospital grounds and to put in place the funding needed to make this happen.”