Edinburgh Royal Infirmary staff parking: NHS Lothian relax permit system over safety fears at Sheriffhall Park and Ride

Health bosses have relaxed parking rules at Edinburgh’s Royal Infirmary after staff voiced fears for their safety using a remote park and ride site late at night.

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Nurses spoke of feeling “intimidated” when they went to collect their cars at Sheriffhall Park and Ride after finishing late shifts at the hospital.

Staff were pointed to Sheriffhall as an alternative after a strict parking permit system was introduced to tackle a shortage of spaces on the Infirmary campus at Little France.

Staff will now be able to park at the hospital without a permit after 11.30am if they can find a space.

Now NHS Lothian says staff arriving for work after 11.30am will be allowed to park on site without a permit with immediate effect if there are spaces available.

Deputy chief executive Jim Crombie said: “The staff parking permit scheme at the Royal Infirmary was reintroduced because the site had become seriously congested due to the sheer volume of cars accessing the site each day. This posed a danger to staff, patients and visitors and compromised the ability of emergency blue light vehicles to access the hospitals.

“As we said we would, we are continually reviewing the parking arrangements across the campus site, considering both staff feedback and data collected by our parking teams to help shape and inform future decisions.

“From today we are expanding car park access for all staff arriving on site from 11.30am onwards. This change will be on an initial trial basis to understand the impact that it will have on capacity and congestion.”

Permits will still be required from 6am-11.30am.

Mr Crombie said the afternoon and evening timetable for the staff shuttlebus to Sheriffhall was being extended to provide an additional two journeys to the park and ride site at 20.45 and 21.15.

He added: “All the measures taken so far have been developed with the participation of staff and agreement of our NHS Lothian parking group which has seen robust involvement from our employee director.

"The Royal Infirmary has a weekly group reviewing traffic management, including this situation, and has just launched a staff survey to seek further feedback. We continue to encourage staff to engage constructively with us, sharing any ideas they have to improve things further.”

The Evening News reported earlier today how frightened nurses had called for increased safety measures at Sheriffhall.

Lothian Tory MSP Miles Briggs told how he had received emails from concerned staff, including one nurse who returned to her car at the park and ride after midnight and found “some guys sitting in a car with their car lights shining on hers”. Mr Briggs said: “She got into her car and drove home, but she felt really intimidated.”

In response to the concerns NHS Lothian had written to the police requesting increased visibility and to Midlothian Council, which runs Sheriffhall, asking it to ensure adequate lighting and CCTV.

After hearing of the relaxation of the permit scheme, Mr Briggs said: “I am pleased that NHS Lothian have listened to the concerns of NHS Lothian staff and made changes to parking rules at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.

“NHS Scotland staff are the reason why we are so proud of our health service in Scotland and we must properly value them.

“I will continue to engage with staff, the NHS Lothian board and the Scottish Government to find a suitable long term solution to parking issues at the Infirmary.”

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