Patients claim they are struggling to find parking spaces at Ninewells Hospital in the morning – leaving them at risk of missing appointments.
The operator of parking facilities at Tayside’s biggest hospital says that demand for spaces has risen in recent months, with people now able to park at the site free of charge and more patients attending in-person appointments.
Some have branded it “absolute chaos” amid claims that most spaces are already occupied well before 9am each day.
When The Courier attended on Thursday morning, many of the car parks were showing as “full” with drivers forced to go round in circles in search of a space.
Jan Smith, from Carnoustie, was among those attending the hospital and says it took her 40 minutes to find somewhere to park.
She told The Courier: “We left just after 8 o’clock and we got to the place itself in really good time.
“We headed for car park nine where we usually have no problem but there was no hope, we did a full circle, there was nothing.
“We went down and round and came back out again and actually ended up away from the hospital [in a residential area].
‘There must be something better than this’
“I didn’t abandon the car but it did end up just out on the road because I couldn’t spend any more time going round and round, or else I would have missed my appointment.
“There must be something better than this, if you were running late, you’d have no hope.”
One worker at the hospital took to social media to highlight the issue.
Amy Oana wrote: “Commiserations to all of the patients at Ninewells with appointments at 9am who have to be at the hospital at least an hour before their appointment if they stand a chance of getting a car parking space, and spend 15-20 mins trying to even get into the hospital grounds.”
Commiserations to all of the patients at Ninewells with appointments at 9am who have to be at the hospital at least an hour before their appointment if they stand a chance of getting a car parking space, and spend 15-20 mins trying to even get into the hospital grounds.
— Amy Oana (@AmyKOana) November 10, 2021
She says she has witnessed a patient “visibly distressed” because a lack of spaces made them late for an appointment.
Niamh Fitzpatrick, a 23-year-old medical student, told The Courier that there are problems every morning.
She said: “I just had to give up trying to get a space because I have to leave an extra half an hour before I need to be in, it’s just absolute chaos.
“If you’re not there before 8.30am there aren’t any spaces in the long-stay parking ones, and I start at 9am, so I’ve just decided to park 10 minutes away and walk because it’s less time.
“It’s just a bit stressful in the mornings, it means I have to leave a lot earlier. I guess a lot of patients could lose their appointments if they can’t get in.”
One patient, who asked not to be identified, says he now gets a bus to Ninewells for appointments instead.
He said: “You can’t get parked because the staff take up a lot of the spaces.
“Even the four-hour slots get filled up quickly so I just take the bus in instead.
“I’ve been coming for appointments quite regularly recently and it’s definitely been a problem.
“In Perth, when you have an appointment, you get a slip that you can put on your dash board that says how long you’ll be there, like a temporary permit, which I think works a lot better.”
Last year it emerged that missed appointments in Tayside cost millions of pounds each year.
How does parking work at Ninewells?
Car park 5 is for patients and visitors only and has a four-hour time limit.
Car parks 1, 2, 6, 9 and the multi-storey car park are free for all staff, patients and visitors.
Car parks 3 and 4, the underground car park and School of Nursing car park are for permit holders only.
Ninewells staff have been reminded they must not park in patient-only car parks including A&E, the renal dialysis unit, East Block and Westgate Health Centre.
Disabled parking spaces are for blue badge holders only.
Demand for parking has significantly increased from staff as well as patient and visitor users
Operator Saba
A spokesperson for Saba, which runs the car parks on behalf of NHS Tayside, said: “Following the recent announcement from Scottish Government, that parking is free of charge across the NHS estate in Scotland, demand for parking has significantly increased from staff as well as patient and visitor users.
“However, there has been no increase in capacity at Ninewells.
“We continue to work with our partners NHS Tayside to balance the needs of all car park users at Ninewells.”
A spokesperson for NHS Tayside says the health board “understands that car parking at the hospital can sometimes experience pressure at peak times”.
They continued: “Last year changes were made to parking arrangements at Ninewells in response to Covid-19 and all car parks on site were available for staff as well as patients and visitors to use.
“In July 2021, as Covid restrictions began to ease and more patients and visitors began to attend the hospital, car parking arrangements reverted back to what they had been prior to the start of the pandemic.
“This means that dedicated short-stay car parks are available on site for patients and visitors.
“These car parks are located closer to the hospital and require users to pick up a free collect and display ticket.
“The shorter parking times in these car parks support a higher turnaround of patients using them.
‘Ninewells is well-served by public transport’
“Long-stay car parks are also available for staff, patients and visitors to use. In addition, staff who have a permit can use dedicated staff permit holder car parks.
“To assist with managing the smooth running of the car parks, Saba continues to supervise and monitor parking to ensure safe and effective management.
“We would like to remind the public that the hospital is particularly well-served by public transport and we would encourage staff and visitors to consider alternative travel options, such as car sharing, cycling, walking or public transport, wherever possible.”
