PATIENTS are missing appointments due to a “chaotic” lack of parking spaces at the city’s hospitals, it has been warned.

Oxford University Hospitals Trust has now called on Oxford City Council, which determines available parking slots, to allow more spaces.

More spaces are needed at the Headington sites in particular, according to the trust, which operates the John Radcliffe and Churchill Hospitals and the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre.

But the council said more spaces would only draw increased traffic to the area.

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Windmill Road resident Chris Clifford has used the John Radcliffe and Churchill Hospital regularly.

The 46-year-old said: “It can be a nightmare. You have got a situation at both sites where they don’t service the city; they service Oxfordshire and further than that.

“If you don’t get there really early the car parks are full and the attendants are raising their hands helpless.

“I think there’s a general capacity problem as far as the Churchill and John Radcliffe are concerned.”

Former Oxford Nuffield Professor of Surgery, Sir Peter Morris, wrote to the John Radcliffe Hospital after a recent visit.

Having waited for a spot to become available Sir Peter, who founded the Oxford Transplant Centre, eventually gave up and returned home.

The former president of the Royal College of Surgeons said the parking situation was “a disgraceful chaos”.

OUHT chief executive Sir Jonathon Michael, said the trust was aware of the problems, but parking capacity was determined by the city council.

He said that the trust was now petitioning the council to permit more parking spaces “as we recognise the stress the lack of parking causes to patients and their families”.

The trust admitted parking difficulties contributed to patients missing appointment slots, despite written warnings being sent about the need to allow extra time.

There were no figures available on how many appointments might have been missed because of this.

Chairman of patient group Patient Voice Jacquie Pearce- Gervis, said: “It is now absolute chaos at the JR. The Churchill is even worse.”

The John Radcliffe has 730 visitor spaces, with 399 at the Churchill and 156 at the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre.

In a joint statement, Oxford city and Oxfordshire County Councils said: “Parking levels at the Headington hospitals were set during the planning application stage of their expansion some years ago.

“Limits on car parking have been a vital part of the transport strategy for Headington, which has prevented traffic growth in Headington in the last 10 years.

“Extra car parking spaces at the hospitals would only draw further traffic to this part of Oxford.”

Mike Ratcliffe, chairman of the Headington Plan Steering Group which is trying to co-ordinate a transport strategy for the area, said: “We want to see the hospitals minimise the traffic on the sites.

“The roads around the hospitals cannot be expanded so traffic will always be an issue. The council should look into making the park and ride buses to the hospitals more frequent and economical.

No one uses them because they cost more than parking.”