HEALTH chiefs have pledged to re-examine the road system at the new Royal Blackburn Hospital after complaints from visitors.

Just four months after the £113 million development opened, health chiefs are considering whether to change the way vehicles travel to and within its car park.

It comes after the Lancashire Telegraph this week revealed almost 40 disabled spaces are to be moved after complaints about their location.

Consort Healthcare, a private consortium which built the hospital, will look at traffic flow as part of the re-design.

It follows negotiations between the group, East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust and the Blackburn with Darwen Disabled Access Group.

One of the key suggestions is to change where traffic enters and leaves the car park, to the rear of the new hospital.

At the moment the exit is below the entrance on the north facing entrance road.

This means cars leaving the car park cross on to incoming and outgoing traffic, said the disabled access group's chairman, Bob Simpson.

If the entrances were swapped this would solve the problem as cars would enter first then drive through the car park to the exit, he said.

Mr Simpson, a wheelchair user, said: "At the busiest times you will see vehicles trying to get out of the car park and crossing traffic that is coming in.

"We have said if they reversed the flow it will work beautifully."

He said: "People do find it difficult and confusing. People just don't know which way to go."

The flow of traffic is two-way inside the car park. Drivers have the choice of six lanes to drive down to find a space.

Through the middle of all the spaces is another lane.

Mr Simpson said he was "amazed" at what he said was an inadequate traffic flow system.

He said: "I think it is not right and I think they will come to the same conclusion. It is fundamentally flawed.

"The car parking has been a disaster from the word go."

A spokesman for Consort said the company was developing proposals for the car park.

Consort will pay for consultants to design and cost the scheme although it is not known whether the trust or Consort will have pay for the final works, he said.

Stephen Brookfield, the Trust's director of finance, information and planning, said: "As part of their overall brief they have been asked to look at the traffic flow through the main hospital car parks to ensure that it is as streamlined as possible.

"The designers will be looking at all aspects of traffic flow to and around the main car parks."