Parking campaigner and Mid-Scotland and Fife MSP, Murdo Fraser, has urged NHS Forth Valley and NHS Tayside to urgently reverse a situation which has left just over 400 NHS staff waiting for a parking permit.
Figures obtained by the Scottish Conservatives have shown that 363 workers in Forth Valley and 47 in Tayside are patiently waiting for permission to park on hospital grounds.
Nurses at a hospital in Dundee were recently left with thousands of pounds’ worth of fines for parking on hospital grounds despite most health boards abolishing paid-for car parking.
Murdo Fraser is campaigning for fairer private car parking laws and has called on hospitals to increase parking capacity for both visitors, patients and healthcare workers.
Mid-Scotland and Fife MSP, Murdo Fraser said:
“Constituents often get in touch to bemoan the lack of parking facilities at hospitals and it is clear that health boards need to work harder to provide more spaces.
“Ultimately, our healthcare professionals do an incredible job under severe pressure, and the least they should expect is a trouble-free commute. I would therefore call on the officials at both Tayside and Forth Valley to work quickly to ensure that those waiting for a permit are awarded one.
“Nurses and doctors work unsociable hours and using public transport is often not possible when it comes to getting to work. After a long shift helping provide care our healthcare practitioners should not expect to find a parking ticket on their windscreen.
“I have been campaigning for fairer private parking regulations and its important that this also includes our hardworking NHS staff.”