PATIENTS and staff at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital are still enduring long waits in gridlocked traffic on nearby roads.

In January last year, the hospital’s chief executive Tony Spotswood contacted the Daily Echo calling for action to deal with the build-up of traffic on Castle Lane East, which he said caused “unacceptable delays” to ambulances and the transfer of blood samples.

And before Christmas, traffic was brought to a standstill for several hours following a collision in Fairmile Road in Christchurch.

One nurse, who wished to remain anonymous, called the Echo to say she had left her car and was starting the hour-long walk home.

“It took me about an hour and a half to get down to the first floor of the multi-storey car park,” she said.

“This happens quite frequently, once every couple of weeks. I worry about the elderly patients stuck in the traffic, it is not good at all.”

Following the crash on December 18, Fairmile Road was closed for more than three hours while recovery vehicles and highways engineers struggled to get to the scene.

Richard Renaut, the hospital’s chief operating officer, said the problems were due to the volume of traffic on Castle Lane East, and collisions beyond their control.

“Being delayed leaving site is extremely frustrating for our patients, visitors and our staff who work incredibly hard and understandably want to get home as quickly as possible after a day at work,” he said.

“The delays also have a knock on effect on those due to be transferred to community hospitals or home.”

He added: “We absolutely need to tackle this and are looking to the council to help us with significant road traffic improvements, including the option to create a new junction on to the Wessex Way or a simple exit/entry route on to Cooper Dean slip road.”

Bournemouth council said it was working alongside the hospital and nearby businesses, and “significant resources” were being devoted towards reducing congestion in the area.

Leader John Beesley said: “There is a danger, however, that new road infrastructure will simply attract more traffic.”

He said initiatives to encourage staff to walk, cycle or use public transport were “an important priority”.

“Any development involving access directly onto the Wessex Way or the slip road will be extremely expensive and will have to be funded from resources that the Council does not possess,” he said.