New car parking system goes live at Bridgnorth Hospital - and you don't have to pay
A camera-operated system designed to ensure hospital parking spaces are available for patients has gone live.
Bridgnorth Hospital car park is free to use but hospital patients and visitors have often been frustrated by a lack of space, with some people using it to park their cars before heading into town.
Now Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust, which runs the hospital, has responded to feedback by installing a new system from a company called Park Solve.
The new initiative, which reads vehicle number plates upon entry, was first introduced at the hospital yesterday.
Hospital patients and visitors are required to enter their registration details on a machine inside the main entrance and will then face no charge as long as they leave within 24 hours.
Anyone leaving the site without inputting their details is liable to be fined by Park Solve, who operate the same system at a number of other hospitals.
Rachel Mole, clinical services manager at Bridgnorth Hospital, said: “We have had a problem with inappropriate parking on this site for many years, and it can be frustrating and stressful for patients when they come for an appointment at the hospital.
“We did not want to introduce parking charges so have been looking for other solutions and the system from Park Solve seems to be the best option.
“It is important to state that patients and visitors to the hospital will, as now, face no charge at all to use our car park. They will simply have to enter their registration details on a machine in the hospital and can then go about their business as normal.
“There are a number of other car parks locally for shoppers and visitors to Bridgnorth that we would encourage people to use if they have no business at the hospital.”
Bridgnorth Hospital has 43 spaces in its main car park, as well as four spaces for blue badge holders and three patient drop-off spaces.
On any given day, the site can see upwards of 200 people going through through its doors to attend clinics, the minor injuries unit, or to visit patients. The site also hosts the Bridgnorth midwife-led unit.
