The Western Bay of Plenty community has spoken up about the difficulty of finding a car park at Tauranga Hospital, and they are asking for a change.

SunLive surveyed the community on Facebook, asking for their experiences with car parking at Tauranga Hospital.

More than 100 SunLive readers reported struggling to find a car park when attending Tauranga Hospital for an appointment or to visit a friend or family member.

Choley Barke found the nearest car park to the hospital, still far away, as they were full. She had to walk from the opposite end of the park while in labour.

Later, she went through a traumatic birth experience, and once she was discharged from the hospital, she then had to walk again to the opposite end of the car park, just after having a baby.

Then, when her baby was 3 months old, she had to revisit the hospital for appointments. Again, she struggled to find a car park and had to walk through the rain holding her baby.

Stacey Cryer said a family member had been visiting the cancer centre, where the carparks are often full, and they had to walk up a steep hill while feeling very sick to get to their vehicle.

A Tauranga staff member, who asked not to be named, said they often finished their shift at the hospital around midnight and had to walk in the dark feeling unsafe to their car.

“We have to park in the streets surrounding the hospital as the staff carpark is almost always full before afternoon shift and even if you do manage to find a park in there, it’s poorly lit, isolated and unsafe to walk to in the middle of the night,” they said.

Others said they had circled around the carpark block several times, taking up to half an hour, sometimes longer, to find a park.

“It’s far worse compared to a year ago,” said Tracey Valentine. “I’ve driven my dad to his last two appointments so I can drop him off. Even with a mobility card, he can’t get a car park and allows himself an extra hour to find a carp ark if he’s on his own.”

Rebecca Mills said she had an appointment at 11.30am on a Thursday. “I turned up at 11.09am at the bottom carpark, no parks at all. I had to park down 17th Ave near the end of the road and then walk,” said Mills, who was having trouble walking.

Adrienne Turner was 40 weeks pregnant and days away from being due. “I had to visit the hospital and finding a park was ridiculous. [It] Must be so hard for the elderly if I found it difficult being 40 weeks pregnant.”

Pam McKeown’s husband was in the hospital for five weeks last year. “Trying to get a parking space at any time of day and night was very stressful, knowing he was waiting on you to be with him.”

Toni Fisher spent an hour driving around, then gave up and missed his appointment. “Does my head in this place.”

Andrew Ruiha Whare said all parks on the surrounding roads were full, so he had to park by Tauranga Boys’ College.

Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora Bay of Plenty group director of operations Pauline McGrath said ensuring timely access to health services is a priority.

“This includes making sure people who need to visit Tauranga Hospital have options for parking on-site, alongside alternatives such as public transport.

“While we acknowledge parking spaces are in high demand, our public parking is free, and we have allocated accessible parking for those who need it.

“As we have previously stated, we are considering options for further parking as part of our hospital redevelopment plan, which is in progress.”

Tauranga MP Sam Uffindell said he had also experienced challenges when parking a vehicle at Tauranga Hospital.

He said he encouraged Tauranga Hospital and Tauranga City Council to address this. “I encourage both of them to take the community feedback on board and respond accordingly.”

A Tauranga City Council spokesperson said the council did not want to comment.

Uffindell said it is important that people working, seeking treatment or visiting loved ones at Tauranga Hospital have access to carparks that are safe and accessible. Bay of Plenty MP Tom Rutherford agreed with Uffindell and had nothing further to add.