A watchdog has highlighted the serious travel problems faced by patients trying to get to the busiest hospital in Sussex.

The Mid Sussex locality group of the West Sussex public and patient involvement forum carried out a study after being inundated with complaints.

It followed changes in services provided at the Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath and the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton in 2005 which led to more patients from Mid Sussex having to go to Brighton for treatment and appointments.

The report found it took some drivers well over an hour to leave their homes, drive to the Royal Sussex and find a parking space either at the hospital or in the streets nearby.

There are a large number of patients, especially those in more rural areas of Sussex, who have poor public transport links and had little choice but to use a car.

The report praised a subsidised 40X bus route which provides a direct link between the two hospitals but said it should be better advertised and be increased to every half hour instead of hourly so it would fit in with appointment times.

However the bus route has no pick up points in Hassocks or Hurstpierpoint and journeys from other Mid Sussex villages do not link up well with it.

Concerns have also been raised about the lack of a bus shelter outside the Royal Sussex.

The report also called for a park and ride scheme to be set up to ease pressure around the hospital.

The report's findings are published shortly before the long-awaited Fit for the Future public consultation due to be launched later this year which could lead to services being lost at the Princess Royal, Worthing Hospital and St Richard's Hospital in Chichester.

If services are cut it will mean more patients travelling to Brighton which will lead to more demands for parking spaces.

The survey was launched towards the end of last year and questionnaires were returned during December and January.

The report said: "People can wait more than an hour to get into the hospital car park as it is completely inadequate."

A spokeswoman for Brighton and Hove City Council said: "Changes to the parking scheme area which includes the Royal Sussex, came into operation last year and includes more than 1,000 shared pay and display/resident permit bays to allow visitors to the hospital to park.

"A large majority of these bays in more than 20 roads near the hospital allow visitor parking for up to four hours.

"Unfortunately there is no shelter for the 40X as the pavement by the bus stop is too narrow to legally allow the council to put one in.

"However in light of the information in this report our public transport team have said they will have a look at the 40X bus stop and discuss with the bus company Country Line to see if there is any way round the problem.

"It is not quite the same as a park and ride but the council is working on plans for a rapid transport scheme (RTS) which would include the Royal Sussex."

Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs the Princess Royal and the Royal Sussex, was unavailable to comment.

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