A WORCESTERSHIRE hospital trust director has called for more to be done to ease parking problems at Worcester's troubled new hospital.

Acute trust non-executive director Chris Nicholls said Worcestershire Royal Hospital was "an absolute disaster area" when it came to parking.

"I've heard there's going to be a one-way system, but I've not seen any evidence of that," he told a meeting of the trust board.

"When are we going to have this new system in place?"

Mr Nicholls said visiting a hospital was a stressful situation anyway, even without the problem of parking.

"If you can't park and you need to get to an appointment, there are all sorts of implications. It puts you completely in the wrong frame of mind."

He said the Commission for Health Improvement had mentioned the parking difficulties in its review of the trust.

Trust chairman Michael O'Riordan said the size of the car park had been limited by planning guidelines.

"We've worked to the planning limits. We're looking to see how we might get more parking provision by redirecting traffic movement," he said.

"I wish I had a panacea to cure all parking evils, but I don't. We need to address public transportation and the location of park-and-ride schemes."

Mr O'Riordan said he would be meeting Worcester City Council chief executive David Wareing to discuss public transport provision for the hospital.