A MAN whose wife was forced to walk to A&E 'in horrendous pain' says he fears somebody will die waiting in Headington's traffic gridlock.

The man, who wants to stay anonymous, said his wife was ‘screaming and crying in pain’ but was left with no choice but to get out of the car stuck on Headley Way and walk to the John Radcliffe Hospital, so that she could be seen.

He said: “The doctor told me to get her to A&E as soon as possible. And, it was impossible.

“As close as we could get was at the bottom of Headley Way. Where a queue of traffic began as far as the eye could see. We were at a total standstill.

“Her and many others had to abandon their transport and walk the rest of the way.

“My wife was in absolutely horrendous pain. She was sat in the car screaming and crying in pain. In a hell of a state.

“I couldn’t do anything just stuck in the traffic.

"What if she was having a heart attack? Somebody’s going to die.”

He said hospital staff said the traffic was because of clinics that run twice a week, adding: “Surely they can just be spread out to reduce traffic?”

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Bosses at Oxfordshire’s largest hospital have apologised for the queues and say they will do everything possible to alleviate the problem.

Jason Dorsett, the hospital trust’s executive director, said: “We recognise that the current car parking situation at the John Radcliffe is not satisfactory.

“We are very sorry for the people who’ve experienced problems with parking on our sites at what can often be an anxious time.”

The trust have already put in measures to fix the problem, including moving pregnancy units back into the community and changing the base of the admin staff from the hospital to Cowley so that there are more car spaces.

He said: “We have looked at the scheduling of clinics and we also constantly review the need for follow up appointments.”

However, Oxfordshire County Council said problems won’t improve unless something is done about parking at the hospital.

Spokesperson Martin Crabtree said work on Headley Way – part of Access to Headington road improvement scheme – was going well.

He said: “Traffic on the hospital’s busiest days will continue to be problematic even after completion of the Headley Way improvements.”

“The JR still advises leaving an hour ahead of your appointment due to the demand for parking on-site and until such a time that this issue is resolved by the hospital trust we will still see queues.”