"Disabled car parking"

Dear Sir/Madam Thank you for your recent comments about our new car parking system. We would agree that signage advising disabled drivers of the process to follow in registering their blue badge and vehicle(s) details to obtain free car parking could be improved; and areas where this is lacking are being attended to. Thank you for bringing this to our attention. Currently we have 14900 blue badge holders registered with us. Although it may feel overly bureaucratic, without a central record of those who hold blue badges, we have no means of identifying those who qualify for free parking from those who don't . Although not available in all organisations we thought it was important that this concession was offered to those who are likely to need it most. Staff who pay for their parking permits are required to register in the same way. Their car number plate details are centrally stored allowing their cars to be recognised by parking eye and allow access to car parks as required. Patients/visitors also have to register their vehicle registration via the pay and display machines. Our new system has allowed us to prioritise more spaces for patients closer to the hospital doors. I hope this explanation helps a little and thanks again for getting in touch. The system is new and any change of this nature is always enhanced by feedback on how we can improve. With best wishes, Annie Annie Laverty - Director of Patient Experience