With an increase in demand for parking spaces near hospitals and makeshift health centres due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a nationwide public appeal has launched to ease the burden on travelling NHS staff and patients.

JustPark, the UK’s most popular parking app, is urging the public and businesses located close to hospitals to offer their car parking spaces for free. The app enables unused parking spaces to be listed for others to reserve and pay for in advance, but is allowing free parking for healthcare workers and patients by making it possible to list spaces for free.

JustPark is appealing for anyone with a suitable space near an NHS site to list it for free so a healthcare professional or patient can have access to it. JustPark will not levy any fees for either the space holders or the drivers and is offering this to connect key workers and patients with available spaces. With a network of over 50,000 locations and over 4.5 million registered users, it is hoped that this may provide an invaluable service for an already under-pressure NHS.

The appeal comes following an announcement by TfL that a number of London Underground stations will close from Thursday (19 March).

In order to set up a free listing, customers can visit the dedicated Coronavirus appeal page on the JustPark website, where they can add the details of their space in 2 minutes

Anthony Eskinazi, Founder and CEO of JustPark said: “This is clearly a very difficult time with many challenges that we all need to pull together to overcome. There is a general sense that people want to help one another, and this appeal is one of the ways they can do that.

“Healthcare staff are working round the clock to care for the public, but there are an increasing number of parking issues facing NHS workers, which is adding to the pressure they are facing at this time.

“Many people have unused parking spaces in key locations, so we’re appealing for them to support the efforts of our NHS by making them available as free hospital parking to those in need. While it might only be a small step, it is important to ensure the fight against the virus can continue.”

Dr Jonathan Behar, 39, a Consultant at the Royal Brompton Hospital, commented: “Due to the extra pressure that COVID-19 is putting on the NHS, we’re noticing that parking is increasingly becoming an issue – not just for our patients, but for our staff as well. Staff at the hospital are facing long shifts already while we do our best to treat patients, so we urge people who have available parking near hospitals to visit the JustPark website and list it for free.”

To make a free listing for hospital or healthcare parking, visit the JustPark website at: https://www.justpark.com/about/coronavirus-appeal/