Trained cashiers at University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) are now collecting parking fees from people using the hospital’s new parking lot following criticism from members of parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

However, some users have since complained that the new arrangement is causing delays and inefficiencies at the facility.

The changes were disclosed during Tuesday’s sitting of the PAC as lawmakers continued their examination of troubling findings raised in the Auditor General’s Report into the operations of UHWI.

Acting hospital CEO Eric Hosin told the committee that the previous system involving security guards collecting parking fees had been scrapped immediately after PAC members raised concerns during their sitting on April 14.

The issue of parking fee collections first emerged during previous PAC deliberations when committee members questioned whether the hospital had adequate systems in place to properly monitor cash collections at the parking facility. Concerns were also raised about the lack of safeguards to ensure all revenue collected was being accounted for.

PAC Chairman Julian Robinson told Hosin that simply removing security guards from the process would not by itself solve the wider accountability concerns identified by lawmakers.

“Well, can you tell me what is the verification process? I mean, it is good that the security guard is no longer collecting it, but I also want to know that you have a system in place that whoever is collecting the money, you can verify that you are collecting 100 per cent of what you should be collecting,” Robinson said.

In response, Hosin said the hospital is still working towards implementing a fully automated system that would allow more reliable monitoring of collections and vehicle movements.

He then outlined the temporary arrangement now being used by the hospital to process parking payments.

“What we have is a system where the guard will issue a ticket at the entry to the person with the time and so, and then they pay at any of the cashiers at the hospital, because we have several cashiers stations, and then, when they are exiting, they will show that receipt along with the ticket to the guard at the exit,” he explained.

One visitor to the hospital who used the car park after the new system was implemented told the Jamaica Observer that cashiers determine the amount to be paid by comparing the time the individual entered the facility with the time payment is made, using the institution’s rate structure — which ranges from $250 for one hour to $1,000 for an entire day — before the receipt is presented to the security guard upon exiting the compound.

Despite the changes, complaints have surfaced on social media from some people who say the revised process has resulted in long wait times and additional stress for visitors already dealing with medical emergencies.

In one post a user complained that after visiting his grandmother who had suffered a stroke, he was forced to join a long line shared with patients and other visitors in order to pay for parking, arguing that the process has added further frustration for people already navigating difficult situations at the hospital.