Hospital parking system needs a cure

Leaving the car park at Mater Dei is bad for one's health.

The other day, at 12.30 p.m. (not exactly prime visiting time) there were some 20 people ahead of me queuing up at the ticketing machine at ground floor level.

Five minutes later, the queue had barely moved so I went to the third level where my car was parked only to learn that this level is not serviced by a ticketing machine.

I was told to go up to the second level, where I found yet another 20-strong queue waiting to pay.

My turn came around 15 minutes later, but the stress was not over.

Not surprisingly, with so many people waiting to pay, driving out of the car park was another frustrating wait behind some 40 cars all inching their way to the barriers.

Now can't the winner of the Mater Dei jackpot car park contract not afford to put a ticketing machine on each floor and make life a little easier for the thousands who visit patients every day?

After all, the car park has not provided jobs for anyone, and has practically no maintenance costs.