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Care Opinion

Parking at the Townsville Hospital

Posted By jend

"Parking at the Townsville Hospital"

About: The Townsville Hospital

(as the patient),

The parking situation at the Townsville Hospital is completely inadequate and needs to be seriously addressed. At the Birth Centre behind the hospital there are about 5-6 parking spaces maximum for customers of the Birth Centre, and no other available parking spaces nearby. Arriving at the centre at 4pm one afternoon, I was forced to drive around for 10 minutes, and then walk 10 minutes back to the Birth Centre after finally spotting someone who was about to pull out of their parking space and waiting until they left. At 8 months pregnant, being expected to walk 10 minutes across hot car parks to get to a medical appointment is completely unacceptable - there needs to be more parking space made available.

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Responses

Response from Karina Finch, Nursing Director Patient Services, Townsville Hospital & Health Service 8 years ago
We are preparing to make a change
Karina Finch
Nursing Director Patient Services,
Townsville Hospital & Health Service

I am responsible for the areas that manage patient safety, patient experience, client liaison and mortality review.

Submitted on 4/01/2016 at 5:48 PM
Published on Care Opinion at 6:22 PM

Dear jend

Thank you for taking the time to tell us about your experience regarding difficulties finding a park to attend your appointment at the Birth Centre recently. I am very sorry to hear that you had to drive around for an extended period then walk for 10 mins back to the Birth Centre to attend your appointment. I agree this is not acceptable.

We recognise parking has becoming increasingly challenging at the hospital for our patients and their families as services have expanded and patient numbers continue to grow. Whilst we have made various changes to address these issues in specific areas in recent times such as the 4 dedicated parking spaces at the Birth Centre, ready access to parking continues to be an issue for many people. I am aware Townsville Hospital & Health Service are in the process of considering a range of strategies to improve access to parking, although I don't have specific details to hand at present. I will gather some detailed information on future plans in coming weeks and let you know what these are.

However, I appreciate future plans in no way address your issues with accessing a park to attend appointments at the birth centre now. I have spoken to staff in the Birth Centre who have asked me to encourage you to discuss this with your midwife during your next contact, to establish a plan for future appointments in the event that you can not find a park close to the centre. I can also advise there are buggies driven by volunteers available at the front entrance of the main building most working days during business hours to transport patients around the campus. These may be able to offer assistance, depending on the time of your appointment.

Once again I would like to thank you for sharing your story with us, and reassure you that the organisation is committed to addressing the shortage of car parking for patients and visitors in future.

With kind regards

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