ANGRY members of staff at Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) have hit out at “deplorable” new restrictive parking measures making them late for work.

Since the beginning of the week, parking attendants have been reinstated at the hospital, meaning employees and patients are having to queue to get a parking space. 

Our source, who works in an outpatient department, claims that one member of staff was 45 minutes late for work because of this. 

READ MORE: Queen Elizabeth University Hospital parking plan sparks fury

He explained: “Staff are having to wait for ages to get a parking space. The parking attendants were all done away with during the pandemic.

“It used to be that they would man the parking lots but there was never this problem, even back then.

“My colleague was 45 minutes late getting into work because of this. She is normally at her desk for 8.30am for her first patient at 9am. 

“It’s not just her, it’s people like doctors and nurses that have to be in early to let the night shift go. It has a domino effect for everyone.

“The parking gets busy at about 7am because that’s when the nurses start their shifts because they do long 12 hour days.

“Staff are a bit despondent and angry because of this. It has only been in the last couple of days that they have started to man them again.”

READ MORE: Decision to stop parking close to Queen Elizabeth University Hospital overturned by Glasgow City Council

Our source, who is now on annual leave, has also pointed out that patients are finding it hard to get a space and are now running late for their appointments 

He added: “There is a problem here. 

“Staff aren’t going to stop working. When I do go back to work I will probably have to leave even earlier. I start at 8am so I would be lucky to get a space.

“I’ll probably have to take public transport but I feel a bit anxious about this because of the situation with covid right now.

“I think this is a disgrace for a start that they have put in these measures and they couldn’t foresee the impact that it was going to have.

“Car parking has always been a problem there. Patients are often late for their appointments because they find it so hard to get a parking space.

“This isn’t a new thing. Nobody knew this was going to start again. This is the last thing we need right now. It is deplorable.”

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde say that during the pandemic they relaxed parking regulations which opened up more spaces for staff who had previously parked elsewhere or used public transport to get to work.

A spokesman said: “As the Covid restrictions in Glasgow are now at Level Two, there has been an increase in public transport services available to staff and our sites are much busier due to patients now being able to receive visitors.

“A decision was therefore taken to reinstate our managed parking system on all sites from Monday, June 28. The parking regulations apply during peak times of 7:30am-4:30pm only. All parking spaces, aside from those assigned for people who are registered as disabled, are available to staff outwith these times.

“It is important that we ensure spaces designated for patients and visitors are available to them, so that they can make appointments in good time. At the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital site, there are 1316 spaces for staff permit holders and a further 760 spaces for staff who don’t have a permit. This means that 56% of parking spaces on campus are designated for our staff.

“While we understand the concerns of some QEUH staff, we are reverting to our previous, pre-pandemic parking arrangement. Staff are encouraged to plan ahead and consider alternative travel options, should they wish to, using Travel Plan Scotland and local Travel Plan resource guides.”