Issue - items at meetings - Car Parking in Hospitals

Report of the Director of strategy and Governance on Brighton & Sussex University Hospital Trust (BSUHT) car parking policy and provision. This item will be presented by Shaun Innes, Head of Transport, BSUHT, and Duane Passman, 3T Programme Director, BSUHT (papers to follow)

75.1    This item was introduced by Shaun Innes, Head of Transport at Brighton & Sussex University Hospitals Trust (BSUHT) and Duane Passman, BSUHT Director of Estates and Facilities and 3T Programme Director.

75.2    In answer to a question regarding problems with disabled drivers being able to access disabled bays in the Royal Sussex County Hospital (RSCH) car park due to long queues of traffic waiting for general parking bays, members were told that parking officers did try to mitigate this problem by identifying queuing blue badge holders and inviting them to move up the queue. However, this was not always possible as the approach to the multi-story was not invariably wide enough to allow cars to pass one another. Re-locating disabled bays in another location (e.g. in front of the Barry Building) was not necessarily a solution to this problem, as although this might make it easier for disabled drivers to park, the Barry Building car park is on the lower part of the RSCH site: drivers who required hospital services towards the rear of the RSCH site (where the bulk of services are located) would still have to negotiate the steep hill on which the RSCH is built.

75.3    In response to a question as to the proportion of ‘shared’ parking spaces (i.e. spaces available for both staff and public parking) used by staff permit holders at any one time, Mr Passman told members that he did not have this figure to hand but would endeavour to obtain it. Mr Passman stressed that BSUHT was committed to maximising the proportion of RSCH parking spaces available for public use, particularly given the expanding role of the RSCH as a tertiary care centre for people from across Sussex.

75.4    RESOLVED – That the report be noted.