COUNTY: Dorset County Hospital bosses say they are making a ‘serious attempt’ to tackle transport issues at the site.

The contentious issue was raised by governor Andy Hutchings at a council of governors meeting, as he was concerned about the parking and transport problems facing visitors to the hospital.

Acting director of finance Rebecca King said that the hospital was working very closely with local authorities, particularly Dorset County Council, to pull together information to form the basis of a travel plan for the hospital.

She said a survey of vehicle movements had been due to take place this week, but had now been rescheduled for January.

Mrs King said: “We need that data both to inform the discussions we are having about what options we have got but also in putting together our travel plan.”

She added that the bus which came into the hospital was due to be re-routed to a new stop on Bridport Road by the Sydney Arms pub as it regularly got stuck on the site.

Mrs King added that hospital bosses were also looking to encourage staff to cycle to work and were investigating the possibility of discounted bus season tickets.

In terms of the park and ride in the town, Mrs King said that the hospital and Dorchester Town Council had been trying to encourage those operating the service to run it via the hospital site but they had not yet had any success.

Mr Hutchings said he had asked for an update on the issue because of the number of patients and visitors who had told him of the problems they had parking on the site.

He said: “I’m very concerned that patients and visitors that come to the hospital have to go round and round.”

Mr Hutchings welcomed much of what was being done but said he did have concerns about the proposal to redirect buses from the hospital site itself, as it would make it harder for some patients to access the hospital.

Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust chairman Jeffrey Ellwood said: “This is a serious attempt to try and solve our problems and it’s the first time in my knowledge here where we have taken significant time out to look at the issues to try and find a solution.”