Hospital workers forced to choose between ‘scary’ walk to car or parking fines
Healthcare workers are being forced to park kilometres from hospitals and walk to their cars at all hours of the night, or risk parking fines.
Box Hill Hospital staff were offered untimed parking at Hagenauer Reserve when COVID-19 hit, but time limits have now been re-introduced.
The hospital has sent a message to staff advising them to walk in groups when going to their cars late at night.
Alice, a nurse, says she now has to park a 15 minute walk away and walk in the dark, or cop fines because she doesn’t have time to walk to and from her car during a tea break.
“Yesterday I got a fine, and today I drove past the old all day parking and … I counted 11 fines on cars,” she told Jacqui Felgate, filling in for Dee Dee.
In a statement on winding back the untimed parking offering for hospital workers, Whitehorse Council said “parking restrictions are in place to balance the needs of all community members by providing equitable and accessible parking for all”.
Eastern Health, which manages Box Hill Hospital, says it’s “exploring solutions to help accommodate our workforce”.
“Box Hill Hospital staff have access to around 670 on-site car parking spaces and Eastern Health also rent commercial car parks in the precinct, providing staff with a further 200 spaces. Staff who work after-hours are also able to access reduced-fee parking options and are provided time to relocate their cars,” hospital management said in a statement.
The issue isn’t an isolated one, with healthcare workers from other hospitals also reporting similar problems.
A nurse at another hospital said she’s received three fines in recent weeks.
“It’s horrible – I couldn’t move my car because work has just been so busy,” she said.
“One of the nurses was followed … they were then shooed away when the nurse reached for her phone and said ‘I’m going to call to the police’.
“I don’t feel safe at all.”
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