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Care Opinion

Dangerous Parking Facilities

Posted By Sixtykid

"Dangerous Parking Facilities"

About: Stoke Mandeville Hospital / General medicine

(as a volunteer/advocate),

I am a volunteer driver who take elderly or disabled people to doctor and hospital appointments at various hospitals. I always experience difficulties in trying to drop off my clients at Stoke Mandeville hospital for appointments. As we live in a village where we would need to take three buses to get to you, the only possible way is to use the car. Usually the clients have very limited mobility.

Yesterday afternoon I brought an 89 year old to the x ray department. I had to park illegally for a five minutes or so, or we would have missed the appointment after having spent some time trying to park. She needed my help to move and direction to find the department. When she had booked in, I returned to the car and started to look for a space in took me over half an hour of driving around in the rain before I found a space. It was chaos as other drivers were doing the same

My client had to then walk a considerable distance back to this space over an uneven, rutted and dangerous surface and was in danger of a fall.

This problem has been developing over many years. A solution is well over due.

......a multi story car park?

What do you suggest I do next time? Should I just refuse to bring the client?

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Responses

Response from Anthony Banton, Patient Experience Manager, Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust 9 years ago
Anthony Banton
Patient Experience Manager,
Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust

Submitted on 12/11/2014 at 13:14
Published on Care Opinion at 15:25

Dear responder

Firstly I would like to thank you for the great service you provide for local people. It is very kind of you to offer your services to help the less mobile in the community get to their hospital appointments. The parking conditions at Stoke Mandeville are a challenge and it is hoped that the completion of the multi-storey car park will help ease the congestion by taking cars belonging to staff away from the patient parking areas. I certainly appreciate the service you provide and I would not like to see you refuse to help people with appointments at Stoke Mandeville Hospital because of challenges with parking. With regards to parking at Stoke Mandeville Hospital please allow plenty of time to find a parking space as it is very unlikely there will be spaces waiting when you arrive. I would also ask that where possible you make best use of our disabled parking if the person you are carrying has a blue badge.

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Update posted by Sixtykid (a volunteer/advocate)

Thank you for your reply. I do think better organisation for drop off nearer to the entrance would help, something like those at busy airport terminals. They work very efficently. This could be done very simply and quickly without too much cost or disruption. Elderly infirm people cannot walk the distances, from the car parks and do not necessarily have a badge or have it to hand when distressed. The drop off area you have is far too small and congested and is too far from the entrance. I have escorted a number of clients from this drop off, and it is often very difficult for them to manage the distance. I am sure a better system can be put in place with some thought to the situation before we eventually get the multi storey built.

Response from Anthony Banton, Patient Experience Manager, Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust 9 years ago
Anthony Banton
Patient Experience Manager,
Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust

Submitted on 12/11/2014 at 16:30
Published on Care Opinion on 13/11/2014 at 11:56

Dear responder

All of your comments have been noted. I have forwarded your comments to the head of estates for his information. If changes are possible and planned, I will update this post to reflect what we are able to do as a result of the concerns you have raised

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