Reviewing visiting times at Frimley Park Hospital is one of a number of ideas being considered to ease parking and congestion problems.
 
A bus shuttling employees to work could be another solution, the hospital said this week.

A hospital spokesman said a number of ideas to ease parking problems were being sought, including a bus shuttle service for employees.

“Unfortunately there are no easy solutions which will solve the traffic issues overnight.”

The hospital is currently waiting on the results of the visiting times survey.

“This would have the potential to take some pressure off the main site during the current afternoon visiting hours, although we don’t believe it would offer a complete solution,” said the spokesman.

“In relation to emergency access to the hospital, we are in constant contact with colleagues in the ambulance and other emergency services who would alert us immediately if there were ever an issue with traffic impeding their access.”

The lack of parking spaces has prompted angry residents to consider lodging a formal complaint with the NHS. They may also launch a petition.

The residents say the congestion, which backs up through the village because people are waiting to get into the hospital car park, has gone on for far too long.

Patients, staff and visitors have taken to parking in residential roads posing a danger to children and elderly pedestrians, they claim.

Their concerns have increased since Andrew Morris, the hospital’s chief executive, announced he was reluctant to build a new multi-story car park, which would ease congestion.

Instead, Mr Morris said last month, he could spend £10m building a new A&E department. He said he could “solve the car parking problem overnight” but the board of directors was deciding whether to pursue it or not.

The hospital has sent questionnaires to its 11,000 foundation trust members and carried out a survey of site users to gauge opinion on restricting core visiting times to evenings.