THE demolition of an old medical records building should create about 50 extra parking spaces at the Royal Blackburn Hospital, as bosses seek to ease the traffic and congestion problems around the site.

Health chiefs hope to get the final go-ahead for the project this month, following discussions with council planning officers.

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Maintenance work on Haslingden Road has added to congestion problems at the Royal Blackburn in recent weeks, with patients reporting severe delays in getting in and out of the site on weekday afternoons.

With the hospital seeing a surge in attendances this winter, many staff and patients have been left struggling to find parking spot, which has caused a blockage for others on Haslingden Road.

There does not appear to have been major problems with patients missing appointments, however, while ambulances have a dedicated entrance to the emergency department.

Michael Dawson, 42, a Preston-based builder who visited a family friend at the hospital recently, said he was stuck in the car park for nearly two hours trying to exit the site.

He added: “It had taken half an hour to get in, which I thought was bad, but then getting out the traffic was just unbelievable.

“It was like being at a concert in the middle of Manchester where you can’t move at all.People were swearing and getting really angry and when we passed the attendant he said it’s often like that in the afternoons. After I got out to the road I was home in ten minutes, it was crazy.”

Although the 50 extra spaces – to be provided near the entrance opposite KFC – will be for staff, they should help ease the problem because some staff currently park in visitor spaces.

Meanwhile, a temporary car park at the back of the site is still being used, while the hospital is still in discussions with Blackburn with Darwen Council about providing even more.

Martin Morgan, director of estates and facilities at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “We are aware that at certain times the car park and roads around the Royal Blackburn hospital do get very busy – this has been made worse recently by the highways improvement works and we apologise for this as we look into ways to improve the situation. We would encourage people to leave plenty of time for their journey and use public transport where possible.”