AIREDALE Hospital staff have demanded action to tackle delays getting out of the hospital grounds.

Nurses and other staff driving home after busy shifts are facing queues of up to an hour to reach the main road from the hospital car parks.

They believe hospital bosses should either provide traffic lights at the hospital’s sole exit or build a second exit dedicated to Skipton/Colne bound traffic.

The focus of the problem is congested Skipton Road, where during late afternoons Keighley-bound traffic is caught in a jam stretching back from Steeton Top as far as Eastburn.

The hospital’s internal roads fill with vehicles as staff, outpatients and visitors queue to exit the hospital to either join the Keighley-bound traffic or cross the jam to head for Skipton and Colne.

One nurse this week branded Skipton Road motorists “numpties” for queuing directly across the hospital exit, stopping staff turning right which reduce the exit queue.

Another member of staff, who did not want to be named, said that on one weekday this month it took her and colleagues between 45 and 55 minutes to get out of the hospital grounds when shifts finished at 5pm.

She said: “This is happening more regularly. The problem is there is only one exit out. The traffic is getting congested from Steeton Top lights, so no traffic can move.

The woman said full-time hospital workers each paid between £16.50 and £25 a month to use the staff car park. She added: “We are paying for a service. The hospital makes thousands every year. They could at least try to do something to get us off the premises after a busy shift.”

David Moss, assistant director of estates and facilities Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, said he understood the difficulties caused by peak-time congestion and the trust had apologised to staff for any inconvenience.

He said: “We have considered opening an additional exit from the west car park in the past, but were advised that it was unlikely that planning permission for this change could be obtained.

“We have also explored installing traffic lights at the entrance to the hospital, but Bradford Council was not able to provide an economically viable solution.

“We have been in touch with Bradford Council regarding the timings of the traffic lights on the Station Road junction as this is making the issue worse than normal and will be escalating the matter further.

“The council have also informed us that these traffic lights will be upgraded in summer 2018. “Whilst it is not within our direct control, we will be doing everything we can to improve the situation as soon as possible.”