Police responded to a complaint this morning regarding two women having an altercation at the main entrance to the Brandon RHA complex this morning. Both women were questioned by police, but so far no charges have been laid. The conflict began when one woman, who declined to comment or provide a name, parked her vehicle in the patient drop-off zone at the RHA's front doors and proceeded inside. The other woman, Jenny Spool, was waiting near the patient waiting zone, and witnessed the other woman proceed into the hospital and go directly into the Tim Horton's kiosk within the main atrium of the hospital. Jenny was waiting for her parents to arrive. She was there to assist her father, who suffered a heart attack earlier this year. Jenny, although she was waiting at the patient drop-off zone, had parked in the paid parking lot further away from the building. Her parents had just arrived at the patient drop-off zone when she noticed the other woman heading back to the car, holding a cup of coffee, and having done nothing else in the hospital but secure her caffeine fix.
It was at this point that Spool confronted the other woman, using a harsh tone to remind her that the patient drop-off zone was reserved specifically for patients, nurses, and family members assisting those people. The woman responded in kind, gesturing towards the empty parking spaces nearby. The two began to argue, and the conflict continued to escalate until finally the police arrived. After some more quiet discussion, the pair dispersed, Spool went back to help her ailing father enter the hospital, while the other woman entered her car, and left the parking area.
"This space isn't here just so you can grab your coffee," says Spool, "This space is for people who have specific health issues. If they can't park here, they may have to walk across the parking lot, and that can put certain people in danger."
The Brandon RHA recently addressed concerns voiced by the public about parking. The group recently opened parking specifically for customers of the Tim Horton's located inside the hospital. It is located near the Victoria Avenue entrance to the hotel's parking lot, and uses paid parking meters, that must be filled with change if one does not wish to risk a ticket.
Since the hospital Tim Horton's opened up in Brandon a few years ago, there have been many discussions about the negative effects the location has had on parking at the Brandon RHA. Many argue that a private business should not operate within a government-owned facility, and that the congestion of parking around the patient drop-off zone puts patients and nursing staff at risk. People speculate that many people still park in the patient drop-off zone for coffee, despite the designated parking zone put in place by the Brandon RHA.
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