Councillors push to reverse North Adelaide car parking changes after nurses reveal safety fears
North Adelaide parking changes could be reviewed in the light of growing concerns about nurse safety.
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New North Adelaide parking conditions that nurses say are putting their safety at risk could be reviewed, as it emerges their hospital has given them security keyrings with alarms.
Two City councillors will next week meet with the nurses’ union and members of a Facebook page opposing the changes to probe the impact.
Under the new changes, which are being trialled until June 2020, the council has removed 10-hour parking spaces around at least three hospitals.
It is instead enforcing two, three or four-hour time limits.
Staff of hospitals including Calvary, The Memorial, Women’s and Children’s Hospital and Mary Potter Hospice now have to park a significant distance away, then walk through streets in the dark for work.
Cr Phil Martin who, alongside Anne Moran will meet members of the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation SA, Car Parking Crisis North Adelaide Hospitals Facebook group and “other affected parties” at Town Hall on Monday, will on Tuesday move for a review.
Cr Martin, a local resident, said he wanted the “council-imposed parking nightmare” to end. “We want to hear what their issues are and then work out how we can assist,” Cr Martin said. “The motion on the floor of council would incorporate those requests that we believe we can assist with.”
About three weeks into the parking trial, Calvary staff started handing out “personal alarms” to staff. When activated they make a sound and have a small LED light.
“Calvary North Adelaide Hospital has, over the past six weeks, distributed personal alarms to staff,” a spokeswoman said.
“We prefer not to provide further details of security measures because it could compromise the safety and security of our people.”
Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation SA chief executive Elizabeth Dabars had not heard about the keyrings: “I think (the keyrings) should be part of a solution, but it is not the whole solution.”
The Advertiser reported earlier this week that more than 550 North Adelaide nurses and their supporters had banded together to fight the carparking changes.
The group now has more than 650 members.
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A hospital worker who wanted to remain anonymous supported the keyrings.
“The moment you make noise, most attackers get intimidated and take flight.”
Women’s and Children’s Hospital Network corporate services executive director Phil Robinson did not comment on the tags. But he confirmed he had received a parking complaint. The hospital does have some carparking spaces available for staff to use on MacKinnon Parade — an agreement it reached with the council in 2015.
