NIGHT-SHIFT nurses have reacted angrily after they were blocked from entering a hospital car park, leaving them concerned for their safety.

Until recently nurses on the night shift at the Great Western Hospital were allowed to park in the North car park, closest to the main hospital building.

But after 400 extra spaces for staff were built on the edge of the hospital grounds, nurses have been barred from parking in the North car park, leaving them fearing for their safety during the longer walk to the main building after dark.

A night-shift nurse, who wishes to remain anonymous, said she didn’t feel safe parking far from the hospital building when starting work after dark

She said: “First we were told we had to pay to park, which was bad enough, now we can’t park in a safe car park right by the hospital entrance at night

“The staff car park is right at the edge of the hospital site and it is a long walk across the grounds. It is frightening at night-time.

“You have to walk past people loitering outside the Accident and Emergency Department

“It does make you feel scared to go to work because you don’t feel safe in that car park by yourself.

“You shouldn’t feel nervous when you’re going to work.

“We arrive after clinic has finished and we leave in the morning before they start so it’s is baffling as to why we have been banned.

"We are paying either way so why on earth does it matter?”

The nurse said several of her colleagues had complained to the trust.

Sarah Zanoni, Royal College of Nursing South West operational manager said: “The employer has a responsibility to safeguard their staff. Staff who are starting or leaving work very early or late, often in the dark, must feel safe when walking between their car and the workplace.

“We would urge RCN members to contact us with their concerns and we will be raising this issue with management at Great Western Hospital at the earliest opportunity.”

A Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust spokesman said the car park ban should reduce congestion in the overflowing car park

“Over the last year, we have worked hard to ease pressure on the parking situation at GWH and, in addition to expanding the staff car park by 400 spaces, have introduced new rules to make the main North Car Park at the front of the hospital exclusive to patients and visitors," he said.

“This decision was made with input from staff across the organisation and followed a thorough safety assessment of the staff car park, which was found to be well lit at night and monitored by CCTV equipment around the clock.

“Although it’s early days, we are confident these measures will not only help to reduce the congestion experienced by many when driving to GWH last year, but also enable us to look at increasing the number of days in which staff can drive to work.”

In July 2015 parking charges for Great Western Hospital staff were increased by 50 per cent to £1.50 while night workers who were previously exempt from charges between 7pm to 7am also began to pay.

Despite Great Western Hospital saying at the time the charges were implemented to fund an expansion of the car park, the trust said there were no plans to discontinue charges now the new spaces are in operation.