Temperatures rise in search for park Author: By ALICE KELLY Health Reporter Date: 19/07/2005 Publication: Newcastle Herald
PATIENTS are missing appointments and staff arrive late for work because they can't find a parking space at Newcastle's biggest hospital.
There are doubts the John Hunter Hospital's daily parking "nightmare" will improve when a $100 million hospital building and 324 new parking spots open in April.
Boolaroo resident Geoff Warland, 60, was forced to cancel his appointment after an unsuccessful 35-minute search through two full car parks.
"Each time you come out the [main] car park, you have to go right around the back [of the hospital] and go in again," he said.
"A lady there had been trying to park for 90 minutes."
It took The Herald longer than 13 minutes to find an empty spot in the main car park at 3pm yesterday, although many spots were available at 10am.
The hospital's Health Services Union organiser, Christine Gilkinson, said members complained of being late for work and members reported being up to 40 minutes late to pick up their children from school.
Some staff had recently written to management asking to leave work early because of peak-hour bottlenecks.
"Getting from the back of the hospital is a nightmare because it only takes one car not to be parked in properly [to cause a bottleneck]," she said.
Paul Robertson, of Charlestown, who has visited his mother daily for two weeks, said he had once looped the hospital and searched the main car park three times.
Hunter New England Health corporate services director Tracey McCosker acknowledged parking was "difficult," especially during peak times. Staff, patients and visitors could give feedback so the situation was monitored.
She said when the new hospital opens, there will be 324 extra spaces. Development applications for 78 southern car park spots, 40 Rankin Park spots and improvements to reduce bottlenecks were before Newcastle City Council.
Parking was increased as funding became available and people were encouraged to use buses when practical.
Ms Gilkinson believed parking and bottlenecks would worsen when the new hospital opened.