THE implementation of paid parking and barrier controlled entrance and exit points at Life Entabeni Hospital has been met with resistance by some members of the public who feel the move is shortsighted.
“Apparently they give you 15 minutes free parking, what a joke, it is ludicrous! There is no street parking like at St Augustine’s so what option do you have?” asked one resident.
Another commented that scant thought had been given to amplified traffic levels prior to and post visiting hours, not to mention the added collision dangers that will now certainly unpack for vehicles proceeding at speed and cresting the South Ridge Road entrance area.
Responding to these complaints, Lara Richards, marketing and communications coordinator, said Life Healthcare recently made the decision to introduce paid parking to many of its facilities nationally. She said the paid parking system was introduced at Life Entabeni Hospital on 9 December and the tariff for the first hour is R7 with a R1 escalation per hour up to 4 hours, and a minimal escalation thereafter.
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“The parking at Life Entabeni Hospital was historically a free parking area but there was a daily struggle to cater enough parking bays for our patients and their visitors. Upon further investigation into this, it was discovered that there were many cars parked on our premises that did not belong to visitors of the hospital. Due to our parking being free and accessible, it was being used as a ‘park and ride’ facility which reduced the amount of parking left open for true visitors to our facility. In addition to this, the hospital took vehicle security into account. Since the implementation of the paid parking system, the pressure on our parking lot has been greatly alleviated and we have had no vehicle security matters arise,” she said.
Richards said the hospital did understand that the paid-parking system may cause an initial inconvenience, however, in-patients and visitors to the emergency unit have the benefit of their parking tickets being fully or partially validated.
“This is being offered via a single-use QR code which admitted patients and parents of paediatric patients will receive on discharge. The QR code also applies to patients treated and discharged from the emergency unit, where a flat rate is charged. The care of our patients, doctors and employees remains our priority,” she said.
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