Dorset County Hospital staff returning to cars after shifts find DOG MUCK smeared on door handles in Dorchester
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The
"parking problems" for people using Dorchester County
Hospital, both staff and patients, are not the fault of those working
there, nor are they the fault of residents in the area who have the
inconvenience of parked vehicles outside their homes. Whilst I
condemn the actions of those responsible for the abuse and other
allegations reported in this article, we should not lose sight of the
fact that the management and those responsible for the administration
of parking facilities at the hospital, must take full responsibility
for the grievously inadequate parking facilities, which have been a
problem for patients, visitors, staff and even local residents for
many years.
As
a regular user of Dorchester Hospital for some time, it has become
increasingly obvious that the "parking problems" are
chronic and growing worse. On numerous occasions, I have cruised
around all the car parks seeking a space for almost 30 minutes
without success. Even taking the advice in the appointment letter to
"allow plenty of time prior to your appointment as parking space
is limited", has only rarely ever resulted in finding a space at
the first attempt. The totally inadequate provision of parking
facilities has been created and perpetuated by hospital management
and administration in this area of their responsibilities.
I
appreciate and understand that hospital treatment facilities within
various departments is limited and will on occasions require the
addition of new equipment and the space necessary to house the
apparatus and the technicians and other staff to operate it. In this
respect a new "office" has been built in the waiting area
of the cardiology department, albeit that the resultant reduction in
space and seating for patients has created a rather claustrophobic
environment. Also a number of hospital areas seem to be undergoing
"refurbishment" with numerous "stud walls" being
erected and other work being carried out which has so far only
resulted in giving the hospital interior a rather grubby appearance.
However,
the hospital "authorities" have exceeded themselves in
demonstrating their lack of sensitivity or even understanding of
their own vehicle parking problems. In the car parks, it is always
apparent that some parking bays are closed off with no parking
traffic cones, albeit that the bays re empty of any visible reason,
whilst other bays are occupied with commercial vehicles or
contractors lorries, no doubt associated with the building work
inside the hospital. It may reasonably be argued that this is only a
temporary inconvenience (which is not really an excuse for the
difficulty of parking) and will resolve itself when (if ever) the
refurbishments are complete.
The ultimate example of
management failure however is the placement of a new "cardiac
catheterization"
in
the main car park in front of the South entrance. The problem is not
that the new unit has been provided, (a welcome addition to the
hospital facilities which will remove the need for patients to travel
to Southampton General Hospital for their treatments) but
that in order to locate the large container like building. a number
of car parking spaces have been taken away and moreover they were
disabled parking spaces! The removal of parking spaces from an
already inadequate supply of parking smacks of a lack of sensitivity,
if not ineptitude.
The
residents of the area around the hospital, the patients, visitors and
staff have been badly served by those responsible for the every day
parking chaos at Dorchester County Hospital and surrounding area.
Smearing dog mess and other abuses is not acceptable even though
frustration with a problem will inevitably result in extreme
measures.
Creating "dedicated
groups of staff and patient representatives" to discuss the
problem only ever produces rhetoric and numerous meetings but rarely
any actions to relieve the problem.
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