"My mum's appointment did not take as long as finding a space to park"

Dear Mummys girl

Thank you for taking the time and trouble to provide your feedback. Please find below comments from L Campbell, Site Facilities Manager at RAH.

When investigating complaints, it is our belief that we should learn from the experiences of patients and visitors and make service improvements, where possible. Feedback is therefore very important to us and I am consequently grateful to you for taking the time to bring your specific concerns to my attention particularly as it is clear from the detail shared in your post that this has been a frustrating time for you and your mother.

Please accept my apologies for the difficulties which you have experienced in parking and for any distress and inconvenience caused.

It may be helpful to explain that the RAH, like the majority of hospital sites across NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde does not have sufficient car parking capacity to meet the volumes of people who require to access sites during peak periods of the day. To address this NHS GG&C introduced a car parking policy to help address the imbalance of car parking spaces between patients/visitors and staff. At the same time the operational management of car parking was awarded to an external company who are responsible for the daily operational management of hospital car parks in accordance with the parameters of the policy.

I would like to reassure you that the car parking arrangements at the RAH are therefore designed to balance the needs of staff, patients and visitors and are monitored with the emphasis being on ensuring patients, visitors and carers are able to park with as little difficulty as possible. I acknowledge, however, that there is considerable pressure on parking facilities at the RAH which we continually monitor and strive to improve.

In addition to managing the use of the car park sites, the role of the attendants also involves providing assistance to patients and visitors. While the operatives are site based, which means they may not always be in the main car park, they can be located within a designated booth which is stationed adjacent to the main entrance of the hospital. These individuals can be easily identified by their high visibility jackets. The car park attendants are available Monday-Friday 7.30am to 4.30 pm and would be happy to assist should have any difficulties in the future. I am sorry that you did not receive assistance when you visited.

In closing, I trust that my response addresses your concerns and reassures you of our continuing commitment to assist our patients and visitors.

Kind Regards