Nova Scotia health workers say the new free packaging policy in hospitals leaves them without parking.
The Nova Scotia government removed parking fees at all effective hospitals and medical facilities in the state on May 1, winning election promises by Prime Minister Tim Houston.
As part of the new policy, ticket verification systems will be implemented on some sites to ensure that parking is only used by patients, visitors, healthcare workers and staff, while others will have to pay, according to a press release on April 30.
However, since the free packing policy came into effect on May 1, Nova Scotia Health has received around 600 complaints from medical staff who have expressed difficulty finding parking.
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Health officials told CBC that 4,000 parking spaces are needed at peak times than available.
Some staff working in downtown choose to arrive much earlier than a shift to find a spot.
“Since the introduction of free parking, we’ve received many reports from members who say it’s nearly impossible to find a parking lot near your workplace,” Mullens said. She asked Nova Scotia Health and IWK to work with the NSGEU to develop short-term and long-term solutions to “mitigate the parking crisis for health workers in downtown Halifax.”
Government response
Nova Scotia Health says it is in the process of finding a solution. One betrays the policy of charging staff $6 per hour to park in visitor areas during peak hours, returning it to a flat fare of $14.50 a day.
Health officials say they are working with the state to enforce a $500-day fine for people parked in hospital lots that are not employees, patients or visitors. There is no timeline given as to when this will begin.
“It makes it difficult for patients, staff, volunteers and visitors to find spots as they use the situation to park for free while patients, staff, volunteers and visitors do business that is not hospital-related.” “The parking lots at these hospitals need to be available to those who need them the most.”
However, BC maintained free parking for patients undergoing dialysis or cancer treatment in the acute care program, as well as for parents and caregivers of children staying overnight in the hospital. They also maintained free parking for volunteers and maintained financial difficulties clauses managed on a case-by-case basis.
Meanwhile, Quebec has stopped implementing a completely free hospital parking lot, instead introducing a more gentle policy, free for the first two hours, and reduced the maximum daily fees.
