Sir – After recently attending a mid-afternoon appointment at the John Radcliffe, (and, by an adroit manoeuvre, managing to park within 15 minutes), I came back to my car at 5.30pm to go home.

Not only were the roads out of the hospital choked with traffic, but there was a spider’s web of queues within the car park itself, as more than two-thirds of the cars attempted to exit at the same time.

This is exactly the same situation as is found in a large factory, when the day shift goes home.

As the majority of patients’ appointments at the John Radcliffe will be spaced throughout the day, the majority of patients should also leave at staggered times. It might, therefore, be worth enquiring whether some of the cars using the patients’ car parks actually belong to the staff?

Roger Tempest
Witney