Yesterday's announcement that free car parking is to return to most Scottish hospitals will come as a welcome relieve to most patients, their families and members of staff at affected hospitals who had to pay to get to work. The three exceptions are the PFI initiative funded hospitals the Edinburgh and Glasgow Royal Infirmaries and Ninewalls in Glasgow.
So for West Lothian residents that fact that some of the services removed from St. John's at Livingston in 2004 would now have free parking and local access if not removed to the ERI adds to the discord of services being spread across the Lothian Health Board. The same must also be true of patients who get referred to the GRI or Ninewalls.
Nicola Sturgeon is quite right that "Chief among [the founding principles] is that the NHS should be free at the point of delivery and...this should apply whether one comes to hospital as a patient, visitor or a member of staff." What we need now is to find a way to overcome the disparage in parking regulations dependent on where your treatment is available within a health board. Your fine if you will get treated at St. John's, the Western General or the Royal Hospital for Sick Children but if you have long term care requirements that can only be meet at the ERI, PFI contracts are going to cost you and your visitors.
Showing posts with label parking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label parking. Show all posts
Wednesday, 3 September 2008
Thursday, 22 June 2006
Linlithgow Parking Debate
Last night I attended the public meeting held by Linlithgow Community Council regaring the parking proposals for the town centre.
Many of the proposals in the scheme were torn into because of a number of factors. One thing that did cone out of the scheme is that the officers who drew up this proposal are not taking into account the the full long term picture of the area.
In the FAQs in the proposal under 'Why not build a new car park?' comes the response:
The problem is that the reasonm that the costs are so prohibitive is that every suitable space is being bought up for residential development therefore increasing the pressure on parking spaces whereas the same brown field site could have been used by the coucil to alleviate the parking issues.
Of the four groups that park in and around Linlithgow 3 do not appear to have been addressed in the proposals the traders and business owners will have no right to park near their business, the tourists that come to Linlithgow and are an important eceonomic imput and the commuters upon which development of Linlithgow and nearby Bo'ness is being built with the express links to Edinburgh and Glasgow. Of the fourth group the local residents these while being considered are not being given enough recognition or available spaces and are being asked to move cars from outside some of their front doors.
The proposal would also make Linlithgow the only town in West Lothian where residents and shoppers would have to pay for parking to get to their shops. There has recently been huge investment to help commuters in Linvingston at Livingston North a new second car park and the park a ride schemes on Livingston road. So the argument about cost is merely one of no back bone.
If residents want to make comments about these proposals they should write to West Lothian Council, Transportation, FREEPOST SCO4880, Linlithgow, EH49 0BR by the 30 June.
Many of the proposals in the scheme were torn into because of a number of factors. One thing that did cone out of the scheme is that the officers who drew up this proposal are not taking into account the the full long term picture of the area.
In the FAQs in the proposal under 'Why not build a new car park?' comes the response:
'In the short-term, it is not feasible to provide signifigant extra parking space in Linlithgow due to the signifigant costs and lack of suitable places.'
The problem is that the reasonm that the costs are so prohibitive is that every suitable space is being bought up for residential development therefore increasing the pressure on parking spaces whereas the same brown field site could have been used by the coucil to alleviate the parking issues.
Of the four groups that park in and around Linlithgow 3 do not appear to have been addressed in the proposals the traders and business owners will have no right to park near their business, the tourists that come to Linlithgow and are an important eceonomic imput and the commuters upon which development of Linlithgow and nearby Bo'ness is being built with the express links to Edinburgh and Glasgow. Of the fourth group the local residents these while being considered are not being given enough recognition or available spaces and are being asked to move cars from outside some of their front doors.
The proposal would also make Linlithgow the only town in West Lothian where residents and shoppers would have to pay for parking to get to their shops. There has recently been huge investment to help commuters in Linvingston at Livingston North a new second car park and the park a ride schemes on Livingston road. So the argument about cost is merely one of no back bone.
If residents want to make comments about these proposals they should write to West Lothian Council, Transportation, FREEPOST SCO4880, Linlithgow, EH49 0BR by the 30 June.
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