Bendigo Health has said it has “more disabled spaces than ever before” despite complaints from one patient who missed a long-awaited appointment because he could not find a park nearby.
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Thomas Johnstone, who lives with Achilles tendon and back injuries, was on his way to a physiotherapy session at the new hospital last week only to find parking his car impossible.
When he called to cancel his appointment, the frustrated man was told it was not uncommon for patients to miss bookings because of parking congestion.
“If I can’t get a park, I just go home,” Mr Johnstone said.
“How can you build a brand new hospital, and not have enough spots for people with disabilities?”
A Bendigo Health spokeswoman defended the parking situation at the new facility, pointing to a 505-space car park currently under construction as an effort to respond to demand.
The new multi-storey carpark will house another 10 disabled spots.
“Bendigo Health has more disabled car parks than ever before, including disabled parking in the basement car park of the hospital and at John Lindell Rehabilitation Unit,” the spokeswoman said.
Patients who visited three or more times every week were entitled to discounted parking.
Mr Johstone said there was also a lack of on-street parking for disabled drivers next to the hospital’s new campus, saying he previously walked 700 metres on his injured foot to reach the Bendigo Health front door.
Bendigo council recently completed a review of on-street parking near the hospital, a process that resolved to add more two-hour parking bays alongside the health facility.
Safe and healthy environments manager Caroline Grylls said the move would improve vehicle turnover around the hospital.
While no new disabled parks would be introduced, Ms Grylls said cars with a valid disability sticker could stay in time-restricted bays twice as long the time stated on signage.
There are currently four disabled on-street bays next to the new hospital.
But the new additions were unlikely to satisfy Mr Johnstone who said hospitals needed to better accommodate a growing and ageing population.
He believed drop-off bays directly outside the hospital’s front doors were best-suited to becoming disabled parks.
Mark Kearney
Journalist. Traveller. Pop culture connoisseur. Mark is passionate about education, the arts and social justice, especially stories affecting the LGBTI community.
Journalist. Traveller. Pop culture connoisseur. Mark is passionate about education, the arts and social justice, especially stories affecting the LGBTI community.
