The first day of implementing the new regulations for parking lots at the hospitals and facilities of Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) saw smooth traffic flow in the parking area, stressed Naji al-Mannai, executive director of Real Estate Management/Health Facilities Development.
This was due to the introduction of smart systems that automatically read license plates without the need for paper tickets, the official told local Arabic daily Arrayah. The electronic system will be expanded in the future to cover the rest of the parking facilities at HMC and new categories of patients exempted from the fees.
Al-Mannai said that the implementation of the new system started at the parking lots of the medical facilities in Hamad Medical City. These include the Women's Wellness and Research Center, the Ambulatory Care Center, and Qatar Rehabilitation Institute, which collectively include about 1,300 parking lots and accommodate more than 6,000 vehicles daily. The new system will increase parking capacity, as everyone will be encouraged to avoid extended waiting time in the parking lots, he pointed out.
The gradual activation of smart gates has contributed to reducing waiting times at the parking gates. He explained that the system allows for multiple payment methods. When leaving the hospital, visitors or patients enter the car number for payment using debit/credit cards at payment stations located in the hospital lobby. Electronic payments can also be made by scanning the clearly displayed barcode at various locations within parking areas. Patients exempt from fees can scan the barcode associated with their health cards at payment kiosks.
Al-Mannai added that the new mechanism provides patients and visitors to Hamad Medical City hospitals with a free entry period of up to 30 minutes, followed by a QR5 fee for up to two hours, with an additional QR3 for each extra hour. The maximum daily fee is set at QR70 in line with the fees determined by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
The HMC official clarified that the new system to be implemented across other facilities of HMC, includes exemptions for certain patient categories. These include long-term treatment patients such as cancer patients at the National Center for Cancer Care and Research, and dialysis patients at Fahad Bin Jassim Kidney Center. In addition, vehicles of individuals admitted to the hospital for overnight stays for emergency cases are exempt. As the electronic system expands, new categories of patients exempted from fees will be added.
Al-Mannai stressed that parking fees will also discourage misuse of parking spaces by individuals who wait inside their cars for extended periods without any valid reason, promoting fair use of parking spaces for those who truly need them.
Naji al-Mannai
