HEALTH chiefs fear Lothian hospitals will become free "park-and-rides" for hundreds of commuters once controversial parking fees are scrapped.
Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon yesterday announced that parking charges at NHS hospitals across Scotland are to be abolished from the end of the year.
The move has been welcomed in some quarters as a boost for patients and their families, but im
mediate concerns have been raised about the impact on Edinburgh's Western General Hospital.
The site has suffered from traffic congestion for years, and with nearly 800 parking spaces and excellent bus links to the city, there are fears it will become a "free-for-all" for drivers looking to dump their cars for several hours. It is understood a new 720-space multi-storey car park planned for the Western is now likely to be scrapped due to the loss of parking fee income. With NHS Lothian still having to find money to provide car parking, there are also fears about the potential impact on patient care.
Former Lord Provost Lesley Hinds, local councillor for the Western, said: "We brought in a controlled parking zone around the hospital because there was a difficulty with people parking in the area all day. There's a brilliant bus service from the hospital, so people will just park there and use it as a park-and-ride."
The abolition of charges will take effect from December 31.
It means parking charges will disappear at the Western, which currently costs £1 for four hours and £3 for any longer, and St John's in Livingston, where the price is £1 a visit.
NHS Lothian will lose hundreds of thousands of pounds in revenue each year, but will still have to pay maintenance costs as well as business rates for owning the land.
NHS Lothian director of facilities, John Jack, described the situation at the Western General as a "challenge".
He said: "We know that we will be facing a challenge in managing traffic at our Edinburgh sites, particularly those sites which are in or close to local authority controlled car parking zones."
City transport leader Phil Wheeler added: "We will work with NHS Lothian to see whether the removal of parking charges at the Western General will have any impact on traffic volumes and parking in the area."
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said transitional financial support will be handed out for one year, and said the health board would have to submit a plan for addressing the potential increase in demand for spaces.
• NHS Lothian said its valet parking service for cancer patients at the Western will remain in place.
The full article contains 447 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
