Charles Sturt Council calls for more staff parking at Queen Elizabeth Hospital amid safety concerns, parking complaints

There are calls for more parking to be made available for staff at a major Adelaide hospital amid concerns for the safety and workers racking up hundreds in fines.

A western suburbs council is calling for health authorities to create more staff parking at a major Adelaide hospital following complaints about workers parking illegally and concerns for their safety walking to their cars at night.

Frustrated residents have been complaining to Charles Sturt Council about staff and visitors obstructing driveways, parking on yellow lines and causing congestion on narrow streets around the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

At the same time, council said there were concerns for the safety of staff members who had to walk long distances to their cars at night “often in poorly lit areas”.

Council documents state the multi-storey visitor car park at the Woodville South facility is usually only half full and the “surplus capacity” could be made available for staff to use.

At a recent meeting, elected members voted council write to Health Minister Chris Picton, the Central Adelaide Local Health Network and hospital administration to call for more staff parking to be made available either in the visitor car park or by construction additional off-street parking for staff to use.

Hospital workers who spoke to the Advertiser this week welcomed the proposal.

Tyler Johnston and Tyson Evans, who work as orderlies at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, welcomed the idea of more staff parking at the Woodville South facility. Picture: Natalie Vikhrov

A nurse, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said she had been on a waitlist for a spot in the staff car park since she started working at the hospital two years ago.

She said she and her colleagues often parked on Port Road instead but didn’t feel safe walking there from the hospital when finishing work late at night or early in the morning.

“There’s been a few instances where quite a few people have been intimidated by members of the public and they felt unsafe,” she said.

“What we do is we travel in groups or we get security to escort us.”

She added that parking time limits meant she had to move her car during shifts and had racked up around $400 in parking fines over the course of two years.

Hospital orderly Tyler Johnston was on a learner’s permit but was concerned about where he would be parking when he gets his provisional license in three months time.

Central Adelaide Local Health Network chief executive Emma McCahon confirmed the network received a letter from council regarding car parking and “will work with them on their concerns”.

“We take safety of our staff very seriously,” she said.

She said hospital workers can park in the staff car park or, if that’s full, the onsite public car park.

Charles Sturt Mayor Angela Evans said council will be undertaking consultation in the coming months along some Woodville South streets near the hospital “aiming to address the road safety issues created by some on-street parking”.

Originally published as Charles Sturt Council calls for more staff parking at Queen Elizabeth Hospital amid safety concerns, parking complaints