Perth Royal Infirmary staff are angry after NHS Tayside bosses removed some of their parking permits, a councillor says.
Alexander Stewart, one of the representatives for Perth City South, which includes Perth Royal Infirmary (PRI), told The Courier he finds the situation “appalling”.
NHS Tayside reviewed its staff permit policy at PRI earlier this year, resulting in a number of medical and ancillary staff losing their privileges.
Mr Stewart said the change had forced staff members to find somewhere else to park whether it be in the patient car parking areas or the surrounding streets.
“Back in April, I received correspondence from NHS Tayside chief executive Gerry Marr in which he acknowledged staff who previously had a permit might be upset by the change,” he said.
“Mr Marr, however, said the trust’s first priority was always with patients and the change was already helping ensure better access to parking for appointments, reducing distress to patients and pressure on staff that can arise from late or missed appointments.”
Mr Stewart added: “I have some real sympathy with staff who live in rural communities who have no alternative means of travel, especially those working on shifts and need to travel early in the morning or late at night.
“I have been contacted by a number of individuals who are in this situation.
“Local residents once again feel they are being victimised by NHS Tayside regarding this issue especially, when they report the permit car parks sit half-full on occasions.
“Perhaps NHS Tayside need to take another look at their criteria.”
The trust’s head of site/support services, Mark Scholes, said: “We know that car parking at PRI experiences significant pressures and we encourage staff, patients and visitors to consider using alternative transport wherever possible.
“At the end of 2012, car parks 2, 3b and 3c became outpatient parking only spaces.
“They are managed through the requirement to display a permit, which is issued as part of the appointments process.”
He continued: “We needed to look at the staff permit scheme to address issues with long waiting times for new permit applications and make the scheme fairer.
“In order to do this, all existing staff permits were withdrawn and new criteria have been introduced to ensure permits are issued to those who need it most.
“We know some staff will be disappointed at not being issued a permit but this is the fairest way for us to ensure access for patients and staff who need to travel by car.”