Hospitals across the province have waived parking fees in late March, but next month they’re going back to normal.
Nova Scotia Health Authority (NSHA) announced Wednesday that all parking operations will resume on June 1.
NSHA spokesperson Brendan Elliott says when hospitals across the province suspended non-emergency services, they knew the number of people coming to the hospital would decrease.
As a result, NSHA was able to provide free parking.
“It gave us an opportunity to recognize people that did still have to come to the hospital, whether it was staff, doctors, patients. It was a period of time when stress levels were already quite high for everyone… We just thought this was a small token of our appreciation,” said Elliott.
Now that some hospital services are back in action, and the NSHA is ramping up sanitation services, Elliott says the revenue from parking fees will make a difference to patient services.
In fact, approximately $10 million is brought in annually to the NSHA from parking fees. Half of that comes from Halifax alone.
Elliott says this money doesn’t go into somebody’s pockets, but is invested directly into equipment and operations to improve patient services.
In the last three quarters, for example, the Dartmouth General Hospital has used this revenue to pay for staff training, like a CT Imaging Course, an ER Medical Simulation Course, an asthma course, the provincial recreation therapy conference and a forensic social work course among others.
This revenue has also purchased small equipment for the hospital, such as a motorized blood collection chair, a patient ceiling lift, four hygienic slings for inpatient rooms, telescopic urology lenses and a language line iPad Interpreter.
During the last two months when parking was free, the NSHA has lost approximately $800,000 per month, in revenue.
“We appreciate that some people may struggle to pay for parking, especially when they’re dealing with long-term illnesses,” says Elliott.
For that reason, he says most sites in the province have a variety of payment options to accommodate different types of patient visits.
This includes special rates on extended stays, as well as subsidized rates for those with financial needs.
Resuming parking fees, Elliott says, will help keep parking spots open for hospital patients and visitors only.
“With the ramping up of services, particularly in Halifax where the municipality is also reintroducing parking fees, we were concerned that if we remained a free lot, it would get filled up by people not going to the hospital.”
Elliott says the last thing incoming patients need to worry about is whether there’s a parking spot available for them when they get to the hospital.
Where gates were open for the last two months, they will be closed starting next week.
Elliott says safety is now paramount. All NSHA hospitals and the IWK are increasing sanitation of parking machines and all touchable surfaces.
He also urges patients who cannot afford the regular parking fees to seek out all the aid options available through local hospital receptions.
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