Cars belonging to patients, visitors and staff at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd in Bodelwyddan are being abandoned anywhere their owners can find room within the hospital grounds, including on double yellow lines, kerbs and grass verges. Drivers have been blocked in, while others struggle to dodge the tens of vehicles parked along the roadside.
Many patients have branded the parking situation “ridiculous” and “horrendous”, and there have been complaints of people missing appointments and loved ones unable to visit due to the lack of car parking spaces.
Parking has always been a problem at Glan Clwyd and it has become the norm for patients and visitors to arrive extra early for appointments and visiting times just to secure a space.
A park and ride shuttle service introduced by the Health Board two years ago at the nearby former Hotpoint factory has done little to alleviate the problem, with few people using it.
Poor signage is partly to blame, although I have always maintained that it would make much more sense for the Health Board to make this park and ride service available for the staff rather than the patients and visitors.
Thousands of staff work at the hospital and obviously they require a substantial number of parking spaces. If they were to use the park and ride, then this would free up spaces in the main car parks for patients and visitors. I don’t think it is fair for the elderly and infirm to have to use a park and ride. They need parking as close to the hospital buildings as possible. They may only be at the hospital for a few hours, whereas the staff work long shifts and are leaving their vehicles for very long periods.
Health Board bosses have said the pressures have been caused by a combination of increased clinical activity and the major regeneration of the site and that pressures will continue until the multi-million-pound refurbishment is complete. But these problems existed long before the building works began and I fear will continue long after they are completed in two years time.
The parking situation at Glan Clwyd is totally unacceptable and the Health Board must take immediate action to remedy the problem once and for all.
Along with, Vale of Clwyd MP James Davies and local campaigner Sam Rowlands, I am calling for an urgent review and swift action to resolve the chaos and prevent more people from turning up late or missing appointments.
People have been calling for improved parking at Glan Clwyd for years. The Health Board have made attempts to remedy the problem, but to no avail. It’s time they tried harder and I will continue pushing them to ensure they do. When people are poorly the last thing they need is a struggle to find a convenient parking space.
In the meantime, I would encourage more people to use the free park and ride service, which is available Monday to Friday with a bus running every fifteen minutes. The first bus leaves the former Hotpoint site at 6:30am and the last bus leaves Glan Clwyd Hospital at 7.35pm. There is no charge for using the service.