HUNDREDS of people have responded to a call from an Oxfordshire MP to log their travel times to the John Radcliffe Hospital.

Last month Victoria Prentis began collecting statistics on the journey from Banbury to Oxford which, according to health bosses, takes 30 to 38 minutes in an ambulance with blue lights.

But constituents driving themselves to the JR have reported a rather different situation, with the longest time recorded so far at two hours and 12 minutes including parking.

Mrs Prentis launched the campaign in the wake of the downgrading of maternity services at the Horton General Hospital last October.

Constituency support officer Zoe McLernon, who is collating responses for the survey, said: "I have had 240 responses so far. They are coming in every hour.

"The average journey time is roughly an hour and a half. Some are one hour and some are two hours, and four people said it has taken them 60 minutes or more to park.

"It was definitely a project worth doing. We are obviously still getting results in but it seems to me that it's very problematic for people getting from Banbury."

The maternity downgrade means 'high-risk' expectant mothers will need to travel to the JR to give birth and those who face complications in labour will need to be taken there by ambulance.

Current plans to restructure the NHS in Oxfordshire also mean some stroke and critical care services could be centralised from the Horton to Oxford.

Banbury solicitor Eddie Reeves raised concerns at the Oxfordshire Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting last week about the plans.

He said: "Banbury needs a fully-functioning Horton and our county needs an important strategic centre in the north, rather than rely on an increasingly impenetrable JR."

He added: "I have tried to travel there several times. It's a nightmare. It takes you forever to get in and out and the issue is the current lack of parking there."

Constituents have also posted dashcam footage of long queues at the JR on Facebook and Twitter to highlight the scale of the problem.

Speaking on Tuesday, Banbury resident Mandy Cherrie said: "It took me one hour and 50 minutes. I left home at 7am and managed to get a parking space as soon as I arrived. I left the JR just after midday and counted 56 cars queueing to get into the car park."

Over the past year, OUH has been working on a 'masterplan' with specialist firm AECOM that it says will address access and parking at all its hospital sites after complaints the number of spaces has not increased in line with patient numbers.

Jane Stratton, also from Banbury, logged a journey time of two hours and 10 minutes on the same day and spotted 28 cars queueing to park.

New mother Katriona Reid said visitors were also struggling to get to the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre in time.

She said: "Left Banbury for 6.50am for my 8.30am appointment and arrived with just five minutes to spare. 95 minutes, with a baby. Fun."

Banbury Town Councillor Shaida Hussain, 29, responded to the survey on January 19 after leaving Banbury at 12.40pm and parking up an hour later.

She said: "My journey was relatively quiet. It was a routine appointment so didn't bother me much but in the case of emergency it's not acceptable.

"I fully support Victoria Prentis's survey and encourage everyone to participate. It gives an accurate picture of what's going on."