Parking ban for staff living near hospital

Staff living within a mile of a Black Country hospital will not be allowed to use its new multi-storey car park, it has been revealed.

Bosses are hoping to encourage workers at Dudley's Russells Hall Hospital to walk, use buses or cycle instead.

The hospital has already come under fire for planning to charge staff to use the £6 million car park — but not guaranteeing them a space.

It emerged at a hospital Council of Governors meeting last night that plans are being made for an "exlusion zone" of one mile.

Any staff living inside that zone would not be eligible for a parking permit at the 691-space car park.

Chief Executive Paula Clark said it would ensure people who needed spaces would get them. But Dr Arun Gupta said on-call staff would need to take a car to work, regardless of how far away they live. Some female staff may be worried about walking home late at night, he added.

Monthly fees of £15 are proposed for full-time staff, £7.50 for people working less than 18.75 hours a week — £5 for bank staff and those on salaries of £16,753 or less.

Workers at the Guest Hospital in Dudley and the Corbett in Stourbridge will also have to pay to park.

Ms Clark said: "There are times of day when there are staff crossovers that parking becomes a real problem.

"That is why we cannot say hand on heart that everyone would get a space.

Mandy Pritchard, communications manager at the Dudley Group of Hospitals NHS Trust, said there may be some exceptions to the ruling, for disabled people or on-call workers.

"We are trying to give everyone the best chance to use the car park," she said.

Bosses also came under fire at the meeting over the plans to charge staff to use the multi-storey car park.

Richard Brookes, aged 64, a governor representing Brierley Hill, said charges were "completely wrong".

The fees are being introduced at the multi-storey — due to be completed later this month — in a bid to claw back some of the building and running costs to invest in patient care.