Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Minister to reform Hospital Parking Rules ........

New guidelines have been drawn up to put an end to the stress of 'unfair' charges

Opinion:  I have to say that if a Hospital hasn’t organised their parking charges yet and grasped how the start of a Hospital visit is not with a Physician but a Parking Attendant yet ……   Readers here know my feelings on this subject.

From the article here that tells us that a Minister of the Crown must force District Health Trusts in the UK (Boards in NZ) to get their parking organised properly and look after the chronically ill and disabled, tells us a lot about the actual Boards and their governance.  They appear to believe that the Hospital only starts at the swoosh of the automatic doors on the front of the building. 

While the patients suffer poorly designed and operated car parks and with contracted operators who take advantage of the lack of oversight, the Trusts (Boards) may wonder why they have a high number of non-appearances or patients worried about their car while they should be worried about their health!

This article is a good reminder to District Health Boards in New Zealand to take the opportunity to get it right before the Minister of Health intervenes.



Article:
Relatives of chronically ill patients must be given free or cheap hospital parking under new rules announced by the Government.

Patients with disabilities and those with frequent appointments as well as staff working shifts will also benefit from the shake-up, according to Jeremy Hunt.


The Health Secretary said new guidelines for English hospitals had been drawn up to put an end to the stress of “unfair” charges.


Trial technology for car parks by Smart Parking in Hamilton

Cashless car parking could be on the way for Hamilton.

A trial has started in Grey St, Worley Place and the Riverbank carpark using new sensors that sit under cars.


The sensors, designed by Cambridge company Smart Parking, could lead to a parking system with no roadside payment machines.







Christchurch Hospital set to be car-free area soon

New options include security staff acting as valets.


Christchurch Hospital will soon become a car-free zone, but authorities are still deciding how to ferry people to and from the central-city site.

The hospital will lose about 150 car parking spaces when preparation work on the new acute services building starts.

A start date could not be confirmed by Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB), but a hospital committee report stated it would begin on 6th September 2014.




Car park criteria spelt out by council for Blenhiem

Businesses which cannot provide as many car parks as required by council planning rules have two ways of dealing with it, council staff say.


Read More Here .....

Hospitals in England ordered to provide free parking for some patients - UK

New NHS guidelines say priority groups – including certain visitors – should be able park free or pay greatly reduced rates.

Hospitals have been ordered to provide free parking for some patients and visitors under new NHS guidelines announced by the government.

Free or greatly reduced parking space will be given at English hospitals to "priority groups", including visitors with relatives who are seriously ill or are in hospital for a long time. Frequent visitors, people with disabilities and some hospital staff will also have reduced rates.


Jeremy Hunt, the health secretary, said: "Patients and families shouldn't have to deal with the added stress of unfair parking charges. These clear ground rules set out our expectations and will help the public hold the NHS to account for unfair charges or practice

Read More Here ....

Auckland Transport takes up the parking challenge

The International Parking Institute – headquartered in the United States – says by embracing technology and forging public-private partnerships, cities can convert long-existing parking issues into models of sustainability, efficiency, revenue generation and customer service.


Auckland Transport (AT) recently released its draft Parking Discussion document with general manager strategy and planning Peter Clark saying it’s the first time parking has been reviewed Auckland-wide.



Read more here ..

Scissors stabbing over parking spot - Sydney

An argument over a parking space in Australia turned violent when a female motorist allegedly slapped a man in the face then stabbed him in the leg with a pair of scissors, police say.

The 21-year-old has been charged with predatory driving and assault occasioning actual bodily harm following the confrontation in Lakemba, south-west Sydney, on Sunday afternoon.

Inspector Ben Hooper, the duty officer at the Campsie local area command, said the woman and a 26-year-old man had argued over who had the right to a parking space on Haldon Street in Lakemba just before 2.30pm.

A short time later the man was driving south along Croydon Street, which runs parallel to Haldon Street, when his car was allegedly bumped from behind by a white Honda Civic.

The man told police that the vehicle belonged to the same woman with whom he had argued a short time earlier.

The man said he followed the Civic to take down its registration number, but witnesses told police the Civic turned around and blocked his car, and the woman got out of her vehicle.

Police allege the woman slapped the man through the open window of his car before assaulting him with a pair of scissors.

"She allegedly punched him a couple of times while holding a pair scissors, which caused some superficial cuts," Inspector Hooper said.

Paramedics treated the man at the scene, but he was not taken to hospital.

Inspector Hooper said tempers had flared earlier over who should have got a public car space along the street. It was not clear who eventually took the spot.

"Situations such as parking spaces should not be causes for violence at all. We just need to be patient with each other on the roads and show some courtesy," he said.

A short time after the stabbing, police went to a house in Kennedy Street in Lakemba and arrested a 21-year-old woman.


She was charged and granted conditional bail to appear in Burwood Local Court on September 16