AQW 44199/22-27


Ms Connie Egan
Alliance Party
North Down


Tabled Date: 17/04/2026
Answered On Date: 28/04/2026
Priority Written: No


Question:
To ask the Minister of Health for an update on plans to expand car parking provision at the Ulster Hospital.


Answer:
The aim of the Department of Health’s policy on car parking is to ensure the effective provision of car parking across all of the Health Estate for patients, visitors and staff. Decisions on how the policy is applied is for each Health and Social Care (HSC) Trust to determine, to enable them to take local issues into account.
The Ulster Hospital has approximately 2,200 parking spaces of which of approximately 900 are public spaces and 1,300 designated for permitted staff parking. Capacity is constrained by the geography of the site, planning restrictions and the number of entrances and exits serving the site.
On a typical day public car parking capacity at the Ulster Hospital meets the demands of vehicle users, although some delays may be experienced at peak times.
The South Eastern HSC Trust continues to maximise the utilisation of its existing parking assets. The staff parking permittospace ratio has increased from 1.5 to 1.9 permits per space, enabling a greater number of staff to hold on-site parking permits. Recent investment in Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology will also provide enhanced management information to support improved use of available carparking spaces, with the potential to further optimise overall parking utilisation.
The Trust continues to develop options to reduce demand for onsite car parking and is working with Land & Property Services (LPS) to identify suitable land near the Ulster Hospital to support an expansion to offsite staff parking provision, thereby releasing additional onsite spaces for members of the public accessing Trust services.