Christchurch Hospital car park.
Photo: Supplied / Ngāi Tahu Property
Health New Zealand has dropped plans to charge market rates for hospital car parking.
In a statement, the health agency said it had received “constructive and detailed input from staff during the consultation process”.
It thanked staff for their feedback, and assured them the focus remained on ensuring patients, visitors and staff could access safe, secure, and sufficient parking.
“Any changes to hospital parking must be considered carefully, particularly in the context of cost-of-living pressures,” it said.
“Health New Zealand’s Health New Zealand will not be progressing any changes at this time.”
The Press is reporting management of the car parks was to have been outsourced to private firms.
Association of Salaried Medical Specialists executive director Sarah Dalton said the national consultation document had landed within the past week, and there had been a “really strong response from staff”.
“People were really fired up about it,” she said.
Parking was already a difficult issue for patients and staff for many hospitals around New Zealand, she explained.
“If you work at night, or you’re a patient with a disability or who’s got limited mobility because of your condition, it’s not always an option to use public transport – if it’s available.”
Parks reserved for doctors on-call or who needed quick access to the hospital because of the nature of their work were not always respected, she said.
New Zealand Nurses Organisation delegate and Christchurch health care assistant Al Dietschin called it an “embarrassing U-turn for Te Whatu Ora”, but said it was heartening to see they had listened to members.
“Last year there were several shocking attacks on hospital health workers forced to walk to their cars because they can’t park at or near their workplaces. This includes a Palmerston North nurse being carjacked and a Christchurch nurse being left with a concussion.
Members had provided “robust feedback”, pointing out that charging market rates would leave those unable to pay even less safe.
The government has been forced to backdown after trying to hike hospital parking fees for patients, visitors and health workers already squeezed by rising costs.
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