HOSPITAL PARKING
Technology and modular build making impact felt
How can increased capacity at NHS car parks offer solutions, and not problems? Hospital car parking is a complex and multi-faceted issue. Approaches to modernise parking solutions must take into account the needs of the future, and develop appropriate and efficient ways to control throughput and overflow. Paul Eaton, Marketing and Business Development, at Berry Systems, looks at how parking solutions can adapt and adjust for the demands of future generations.
Barriers and CCTV aren’t only installed for revenue protection, but are equally there to keep customers and their vehicles safe.
As we all know, car parking at NHS sites is a constant issue. Whether it’s concerns about capacity, throughput, or simply the management of the site itself, demand always seems far higher than can be reasonably dealt with. Independent surveys show that at peak visitor times, there are currently up to 72 visitors queuing to wait for a space at hospital sites. A previous project to extend staff parking facilities for Colchester Hospital saw Berry’s specialist knowledge and expertise utilised. The project was ideally suited to a single-storey modular system, which adequately met the hospital’s increased need for staff parking, and still provides the flexibility to add further levels if required.
Site capacity As healthcare estates and facilities managers will know, site capacity at NHS hospitals certainly isn’t an isolated issue; almost every site struggles to provide the volume of both staff and patient spaces required for day-to-day operation. The problem has been compounded by the continuing effect that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on NHS sites across the country. Increased backlog, and higher demand for services, have generally meant that all sites have struggled to provide
Work on a top deck in progress.
sufficient parking capacity for both staff and patients. Naturally this data suggests that
more investment is needed in parking infrastructure to support the increased demand for spaces at NHS sites. However, with the cost of land at a premium, especially in the urban centres where hospitals are typically located, it is growing less and less feasible to construct car parks via traditional means.
Multi-storey parking The most effective option is often a move toward multi-storey car parking (MSCPs), expanding vertically, saving costs on land, and minimising disruption on site. MSCPs offer solutions which reduce congestion and the amount of on-street parking required. However, with solutions such as multi-storey car parks, it is critical that the construction process is kept as short as possible in order to keep the site running normally, and keep disruption to visitors to an absolute minimum. According to a report from NHS England, a reliance on modern methods of construction ‘can be vital’ in helping to reduce capital cost. Naturally, any increased capacity means higher revenue for the NHS Trust operating the building, and a reduced need for space. One pressing concern, though, is
that the average car parking space in the UK is now 2.4 m x 4.8 m, after spaces were widened in 2016. Multi-storey solutions would naturally mitigate these issues by being able to condense a higher number of spaces into a horizontally smaller area. This approach would increase the revenue generated from parking charges, and require significantly less land space to achieve. There are also considerations about the
acquisition of land itself. Regardless of cost, which is varied and constantly in flux, the land acquisition process is slow, and often fraught with complications. These are generally exacerbated by the size of the space required, and any planning permission that needs to be sought.
The highest priority Creating as many spaces with as little land as possible is now the highest priority, particularly given the events of the previous two years, and the fact that more patients than ever are waiting to receive treatment. The increased number of visitors attending appointments puts a significant strain on the availability of car parking spaces. Staff numbers are also likely to grow to address the backlog of patients who have had their treatment cancelled or delayed during the pandemic,
January 2023 Health Estate Journal 47
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