Staff at the New DGRI and the Mountainhall treatment Centre (Old DGRI Building) in Dumfries, have been issued with a warning not to park in the patient and vistor car parks or they will face disciplinary action.
In an email issued to staff last week on behalf of the Chef Operating Officer Julie White and Employee Director Stephen Hare, staff were reminded that the car park areas immediatly infront of both the DGRI and the Mountainhall Treatment Centre are only authorised for use by visitors, patients and staff reporting for night duty. All other staff should use designated staff parking areas.
The email stated “We have recently seen many examples of staff, particularly first thing in the morning, parking in the visitor/patient areas, even though there are many bays available elsewhere in the staff car parking areas. This then results in a reduced number of available bays for our patients, creating unnecessary stress and longer waking distances, particularly for our elderly patient attendees and families with young children.”
The email continued to state ” We are sorry to have to send this e-mail taking account of the fact that the vast majority of you park responsibly, but the minority cannot be allowed to continue with this selfish practice which directly impacts on our patient experience.”
The email included information that it had been agreed with Trade Unions at a recent Joint Negotiating Committee to monitor the parking areas and any staff that persist in parking in the visitor/patient parking areas will face disciplinary action.
A Spokesperson for NHS Dumfries and Galloway told DGWGO “We are monitoring our current parking arrangements, and looking at all options to maximise parking opportunities for our staff.
However, the visitor car park has always been designated for use by patients and visitors to the hospital, and we are clear that it must be reserved for this use alone. It should be noted that patients and their relatives can often struggle with mobility and these spaces are positioned so as to allow them the easiest access to the hospital’s main entrance. There is a high volume of people coming and going from this car park area throughout the day, and a high turnover of vehicles.”
