Last week, paramedics were initially stopped from helping a patient who had fallen ill on a ferry at the Albert Pier because of a driver who had parked their car in a restricted zone.
States police officers were eventually called out and managed to trace the driver and move the car.
Now, Gordon Hunt, operations manager for the Ambulance Service, has warned that badly parked vehicles are affecting all the emergency services.
Speaking about the Albert Pier incident, he said: ‘It was just down to luck on that particular occasion that it did not have a significant impact on the patient but we are seeing an increase in occurrences of the problem. It is definitely a weekly occurrence.
‘I would advise the public to be more considerate and not park in places where you are likely to obstruct ambulances or other emergency vehicles.’
He added: ‘Our high-priority category A emergency call-outs are being affected, and those are probably causing the most frustration for our staff.
‘They are calls for life-threatening conditions such as chest pains, breathing difficulties, strokes and serious bleeding.’
Mr Hunt added that the worst areas were Commercial Street, the Parade and parts of St Saviour’s Road.
And on some occasions, ambulances have been blocked in so badly that they have been prevented from attending the scene and another crew has had to be called out.
‘It is generally where there is high traffic movement, where people park to nip into shops and businesses,’ he said.
‘It is particularly bad in the area around the front of the Hospital. I am not sure people are aware that on the side facing Parade Gardens there is the emergency entrance.
‘We regularly see people abandoning their cars there and it is clearly marked that it is for ambulances only.’
In order to ensure a rapid response to all areas of the Island, ambulances are stationed at various locations, including Five Oaks and the Bel Royal food kiosk.
And Mr Hunt said that some vehicles had previously been prevented from leaving Bel Royal because motorists had parked in the ‘keep clear’ zone at the food outlet.
‘We often have people park in front of us there but we are usually able to usher them out of the way when we turn on our blue lights and sirens,’ he said.
‘However, we would be able to make better progress if they were not there in the first place.’
