'Disappointment' for company that manages car parking at major county hospital as contract to end with control taken back
A firm that has managed car parking services at a major county hospital for more than 16 years says it was "disappointed" to find out last week that its partnership will end.
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GroupNexus has delivered services at The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital (RJAH) in Gobowen since 2009.
The firm's management of the car parks included providing customer service attendants who help patients to park while also greeting and directing them.
GroupNexus stated that its contract with the hospital trust was due to end on March 31, but that it was "shocked" to find out last week that the hospital is ending their long-term collaboration and taking control of its car parks.
The company said the move gave them little time to consult with staff who work at the hospital, and The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital has since confirmed that its contract with GroupNexus will now end on April 30.
RJAH said its car parks will be managed by its estates and facilities team after the contract ends, but it is not yet known if there are likely to be any changes to parking fees.
The hospital said the move will result in savings, allowing more funds for frontline services.
A spokesperson at GroupNexus said: "We have provided our services to Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital Trust since 2009, for 16 years.
"Our current contract with the trust was due to end on March 31. However, the trust had issued a tender for the service on December 5 last year and we submitted our response on January 23. We heard nothing from the trust until the afternoon of Friday, March 21 when the trust informed us that they were not awarding the contract to any supplier and told us that the contract would end on March 31.
"We informed the trust that we were disappointed they did not provide at least a month's notice, as this left us with no opportunity to consult our staff or explore alternative positions at other sites we manage."
"No decision has yet been made as to whether we will make our staff redundant.
"We heard on Wednesday that the trust has relented and extended our contract to April 30 in order to allow us to consult with our staff."
A spokesperson for The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital said: "Management of our car parks was sub-contracted to GroupNexus, and we have taken the decision to end that contract as of April 30. Recent investment in our car parking facilities for both visitors and staff has enabled us to review our car park management provision, with the resulting savings being used to support frontline services.
"Whilst It is for GroupNexus to take decisions on the future of their staff, we understand a consultation period will be launched to investigate redeployment opportunities within their group for the car park attendants who work on our site, which is something we would certainly be pleased to see. We would like to thank the attendants for their valuable contribution to our patients, visitors and staff.
"We will now be managing the car parks in-house, with our estates and facilities team providing support to handle any significant events or disruption."
