A WORCESTER health watchdog has vowed to push for action on extra parking spaces at the county's new hospital.

Worcester District Community Health Council has decided to take Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust to task over the lack of parking at the new Newtown Road site.

Members are worried time is running out before the opening of the Worcestershire Royal Hospital in March, and wants action taken quickly before the situation becomes critical.

"What I am concerned about is people who have to drive to hospital having somewhere to park when they arrive," said Glen Green, CHC chairman. "We cannot afford to provide an inconvenient service."

A planning application for 280 more spaces put together by the Trust is currently in the hands of Worcester City Council, but councillors have not looked favourably on it.

Many think a multi-storey car park at the site would be more suitable, as it could cause fewer problems for Ronkswood residents, and others believe a larger bus network should be introduced to ease the pressure on Worcester's roads and cut car use.

The CHC is also concerned about elderly patients who may not be able to use public transport.

"This is not a hospital for Worcester City it is a hospital for the whole of Worcestershire, said Pat Merrick, vice chairman of the CHC.

"While it is very commendable we have new buses on the roads, there are many elderly people on the fringes of Worcester, and it would not matter if you put on a gold plated bus, they are still not going to be able to get on it."

A spokeswoman for the Trust who attended the CHC meeting said the matter was in hand.

"We have to prove to the council we have looked at public transport and we are a green organisation before they will look at the planning application we have sent in," she said.

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