Brilliant hospital bus service is a well-kept secret

I FEAR the article in Wednesday's edition regarding the removal of parking fees at certain NHS hospitals, including the Western General, raises as problems situations which are easily controlled while missing others which may not be as smoothly dealt with.

There is no doubt that the Western is sorely lacking in parking facilities which would have been remedied to a degree with the building of a multi-storey car park, but since there will undoubtedly be 'warden' or similar controls on the demise of charging, there should be a maximum parking period allowed of three hours.

Staff could be issued with permits extending their allotted time and visitors with long-term parking needs can equally be identified by the nursing aid staff and similar long-term arrangements put in place to cover their needs.

By taking these steps the 'park-and-riders' would be deterred from using the facility. A hefty fine, OK heftier, would be a further deterrent.

This leaves the regular outpatients and visitors to fight out the battle for the spaces.

The removal of parking fees may entice present car users to use public transport. "There's a brilliant bus service from the hospital," Councillor Leslie Hinds says in the article. As one who lives within walking distance of the hospital, she should know. Would she like to tell the public of this well-kept secret?

Six bus services 'pass' the hospital as they travel Crewe Road South, only two of which enter the hospital grounds and these services do not serve large amounts of the population without at least one change of bus during the journey. Visitors or day patients are faced with a walk of at least half a mile just to reach the entrance, whichever one they have to use, before navigating the corridors to find their destination.
Steve Mitchell, West Granton Road, Edinburgh

Councillors beat starlings for chaos
ANDREW MURPHY of the Royal Mile (Letters, September 2), who enjoyed the "disorganised organisation" of the flight of a million starlings in the 1960s, will feel at home with the latest Royal Mile residents – the score of LibDem/SNP councillors in the City Chambers whose chaotic administration takes some beating for the present "disorganised organisation"!
Mike McGregor, Greenpark, Edinburgh

U-turns leave poor Cathy in a spin
UNLIKE Mr Korstiaan P Allan (letters, September 3) I am not so confident that Cathy Jamieson will fight for a decent living wage for our public sector workers. Saying one thing then changing her mind when it appears to be politically expedient to do so, is an untrustworthy trait of Cathy's. In fact she must be dizzy with the amount of U-turns she has completed.

A left-winger before she saw the light and converted to the right-wing policies of New Labour, Cathy recently backed her former leader Wendy Alexander's call for an independence referendum. When Wendy's demise was imminent, Cathy quickly had a change of heart.

With no fundamental differences between Scottish Labour's three leadership candidates most people have worked out that all three will stick rigidly to the flawed policies of Gordon Brown. Because she can't be trusted not to change her mind, Cathy's appearance on the picket line will be seen as more about trying to get union backing than supporting striking council workers.
Jack Fraser, Clayknowes Drive, Musselburgh, East Lothian

I'll help create a newly mint Lamb
OF course Lamb's House is the obvious choice for a Leith Museum and Heritage Centre (Letters, September 2), but no-one's listening. After various letters and e-mails, which get passed on to different departments, I still haven't had a satisfactory reply as to why Lamb's House can't be used as a Leith Museum. Anyone who has been into the Customs House knows it's far too big for requirements.

It breaks my heart when I walk past Lamb's House nowadays, it's sacrilege that it's been left to get into such a state. Deplorable neglect. Shame on you Edinburgh City Council! All it needs is a couple of coats of whitewash and some black paint to stand proud again – heck, I'd even do it myself – and pay for the materials. Yuppie flats? I don't think so!
Jan Brown, Tower Street, Leith

Staying away is last thing we need
I COULD not believe my eyes when I saw your front page headline "Stay Away" (August 29). Have you any idea of the harm that this headline can do? The city centre is already suffering with the decline of the public coming into shop or dine? Now that the Festival is over and work continues we will see the true impact of the work being carried out in preparation for Edinburgh Trams.

I have three members of staff who all travel from the west into the city and have encountered no delays. Diversions are working smoothly.

In Leith some of the independent shops have been forced to close and this sad state of affairs will only continue if the public are advised to stay away.

Here in the West End village we have more independent boutiques than anywhere else in the city. We need your and the public's support so that we may continue to provide the very best shopping experience to the public.
Christine Cooper, The Extra Inch, William Street, Edinburgh