Unruly traffic conditions lead to charging for parking at KL hospital

Star: PETALING JAYA: The decision to charge for parking at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital was because of unruly traffic conditions, traffic jams and misuse of the parking facilities by the public, said Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek.
"Parking has become a complicated matter and there have been many complaints from staff, doctors and nurses who work at the hospital, that they can't find parking," he told reporters on Tuesday after the media launch of the 24th Kiwanis Treasure Hunt.
"It becomes more dangerous when they are on call and reach the hospital with no place to park their cars.
"The Cabinet has decided that it is time to charge for parking and have a more orderly system where staff get priority. It is not a question of revenue, it is to give better services."
He added that there were instances of the public parking their vehicles at the hospital parking lots for the whole day and only leaving in the night or the next day while others made it their main route causing traffic jams.
Subsequently, he said that from the 1,600 parking lots, 1,300 would be reserved for staff like doctors, nurses and those involved in providing services, especially during emergencies.
Chinese newspapers had reported yesterday that visitors to the hospital have had to drive around looking for parking because the doctors and nurses have taken up most of the lots.
It also voiced complaints from the public that while they have to pay for the parking, they were still unable to find lots to park.
One patient said that he missed his appointment because he could not find parking.
Dr Chua said that the payment charged by the company, which was appointed through an open tender, was minimal.
Among the negotiations with the company was that it would be free for hospital staff, RM2 for the public with no more than RM10 a day, while a flat rate of RM2 was being considered for relatives of patients with chronic diseases.