ANGRY hospital workers have raised fears for their safety over changes to staff car parking.

Shift workers at Poole Hospital have been left ‘demoralised and stressed’ after being told they can no longer park at the hospital and must park at Poole Stadium instead.

Staff say those most affected are nurses, who often work anti-social hours, and fear the half a mile walk in the dark leaves them vulnerable. Meanwhile, managers have allocated car parking spaces at the back of the hospital, they say.

The cost of parking has remained the same at £30 per month.

A hospital worker, who asked not to be named, said: “Staff feel demoralised and stressed having to walk so far in the dark. Some shifts finish at 10pm and midnight.

“People have complained about safety issues but it’s already in place.

“The managers aren’t affected – you can’t expect them to walk that far.

“Disgusting and a further blow to the staff at Poole Hospital.”

In 2010, the Daily Echo reported how Poole Hospital increased staff parking from £20 to £30 a month, leaving staff morale at a ‘low ebb’.

The minibus which ferried workers from the Poole Stadium car park was also scrapped.

UNISON South West regional secretary Joanne Kaye said: “Walking further in the dark and wet isn’t what anyone wants, especially not at the start or the end of a long stressful hospital shift. Being made to pay for the privilege adds insult to injury for staff. The hospital needs to get on top of this problem so doesn’t hit staff morale further before winter demand rises.”

Poole Hospital said patients are the hospital’s priority and the trust is introducing a new car parking system to create more space on site for them and their visitors as well as staff who most need it.

A Poole Hospital spokesperson said: “The vast majority of our on-site capacity has been allocated to shift workers but unfortunately, given the limited space and the high demand, not everyone who has applied for an on-site permit will be successful.

“However we have been able to purchase an additional 225 spaces off-site so we are now able to guarantee that all staff who have applied for a permit will get one, with priority given to those who are most in need of on-site parking e.g. their vehicles being used for work purposes. We have frozen the cost of permits at £30 per month and ensured staff who have been allocated off-site parking are able to park on-site out of hours.

“All our off-site parking is less than a ten minutes’ walk from the hospital and is already used by a large number of staff without issue. The security arrangements for all our parking sites are kept under review but no incidents involving Poole Hospital staff have been reported in the last year. The new permit system is being kept under review. and we will continue to listen to the views of our staff in its development. Long-term we hope to see the reduction in reliance on the private car and increased take up of alternative methods of travel, such as walking, cycling and using public transport.”