The key topics up for consultation and feedback were:<\/p>\n
Safety, accessibility and convenience.Off-site parking.Parking charges.Employment agreements.User pays.Private sector management and capital.<\/p>\n
Under the third principle, Health NZ said parking charges will be linked to market rates, with free or reduced parking for those in need.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ultimate goal, in terms of pricing parking, is to directly internalise the cost of parking to road users for the fair price of land,\u201d the document read.<\/p>\n
\u201cParking charges will be made to staff, people and visitors who use the health services.<\/p>\n
\u201cMarket pricing for the location \u2013 alongside comparative public transport pricing and the costs to provide and maintain the carpark \u2013 will be used as a guide to set parking rates and reviewed on a two-yearly basis to ensure that parking charges are fair and equitable.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sixth principle asked workers if they agreed that private sector parking management and capital should be used in preference to public sector capital.<\/p>\n
The consultation period was set to be open until next Wednesday, February 18. However, in a surprise move, Te Whatu Ora announced this afternoon that the consultation period is now over.<\/p>\n
\u201cHealth New Zealand has stopped consultation on its draft car parking policy,\u201d a spokeswoman said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAny changes to hospital parking must be considered carefully \u2013 particularly in the context of cost-of-living pressures.<\/p>\n
\u201cHealth New Zealand\u2019s focus remains on ensuring patients, visitors and staff can access safe, secure and sufficient parking.<\/p>\n
\u201cHealth New Zealand will not be progressing any changes at this time.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Embarrassing U-turn\u2019<\/p>\n
Christchurch healthcare worker and NZ Nurses Organisation delegate Al Dietschin. Photo \/ NZNO<\/p>\n
The Herald had earlier asked for more details about the proposed carpark policy.<\/p>\n
The New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) said Health NZ had failed to meet consultation requirements, as the union had not been consulted beforehand.<\/p>\n
The union said it was an \u201cembarrassing U-turn\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cTe Whatu Ora needs to go back to the drawing board and prioritise worker safety after reversing plans to charge hospital workers market rates for car parks,\u201d the NZNO said.<\/p>\n
Christchurch health worker and NZNO delegate Al Dietschin said: \u201cLast year, there were several shocking attacks on hospital health workers forced to walk to their cars because they can\u2019t park at or near their workplaces.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis includes a Palmerston North nurse being carjacked and a Christchurch nurse being left with a concussion.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur members provided robust feedback that charging health workers market rates for car parks was not the answer and would leave those unable to pay up to $100 a week even less safe. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis is an embarrassing U-turn for Te Whatu Ora, but it is heartening they have listened to our members.\u201d<\/p>\n
Female staff afraid to walk to cars after late-night shifts<\/p>\n
Female staff at Christchurch Hospital are banding together to walk to their cars late at night after their shifts. Photo \/ George Heard<\/p>\n
Car parking in and around hospitals \u2013 particularly for workers \u2013 has been a controversial issue for many hospitals around the country, including hospitals in Auckland, Christchurch and Whang\u0101rei.<\/p>\n
At Christchurch Hospital, shift workers have been known to park about 15 minutes\u2019 walk away from the hospital due to a lack of car parking spots.<\/p>\n
One man, who asked not to be named, said his partner consistently felt unsafe having to walk past Hagley Park \u2013 with limited lighting \u2013 to get to her car parked on the other side.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve been finishing around 2am and 3am because of the backlog and not having enough staff. Then to [have to] go outside and be threatened trying to get to their vehicles \u2013 it\u2019s terrifying,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just another slap in the face to all the frontline workers.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m concerned about my partner going to work and finishing late shifts … and being able to safely get home.\u201d<\/p>\n
Others had started to walk in small groups after work to get to their vehicles safely.<\/p>\n
He said staff had been told about a recent incident in which a group of female staff came across a drunk man while walking to their vehicles late at night.<\/p>\n
Deciding to stay together, they made a beeline for the closest of their vehicles and dropped the others one by one to each of their vehicles.<\/p>\n
The man said he often stayed on the phone to his partner as she walked to her car late at night.<\/p>\n
He wanted health officials and authorities to come up with a better parking solution for shift-working staff, in particular, before something bad happened.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a ticking time bomb.\u201d<\/p>\n