CARE, a new 'solution' that the UK parking solutions business says will enable healthcare facilities – from hospital estates to single GP surgeries – to manage their own parking system simply and effectively, has been launched by API Skidata.
CARE comprises a CORE package of equipment including barriers, payment machines, and gates ‘to form the foundation of a complete parking solution’. To the CORE package, healthcare professionals can then add from a series of software functions to address the needs of their site. These include, for example, RESERVE, which not only enables visitors to book their parking in advance, but also helps control the management of staff parking permits and post-exit payments ‘if and when appropriate’. They also include VERIFY, which allows the integration of Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) to ‘recognise’ pre-registered vehicles on entry and exit, and REPORT – ‘which provides essential management information on how their parking system is performing and being used’. Further functionality can be provided to accommodate Electric Vehicle (EV) charging and integrated payment options (CHARGE).
Steve Murphy, managing director of APT Skidata (pictured), says the system enables healthcare facility management teams to ‘pick and choose’ a system with the functionality bespoke to their site. He said: “CARE isn’t simply a bundle of hardware. It’s an entire software-based ecosystem that gives healthcare providers the insights they need to manage their parking provision, and a system that can be easily integrated into any existing infrastructure they may already have.”
‘Fully scalable and flexible’, CARE is said to make it simple for a healthcare facility to run and operate its own parking system, with centralised management, plus ‘24/7’ support from locally-based APT Skidata engineers. Simple tariff structures and multiple payment options also mean that staff, patients, and visitors, are automatically charged the correct amount.