A JUNIOR doctor has blasted her bosses after she was almost wheel-clamped on her own hospital car-park.

Dr Gill Lyons spoke out after a bizarre run-in with parking attendants as she arrived for duty at Blackburn Royal Infirmary yesterday.

And after firing her fierce broadside about the increasing parking chaos at the hospital she told the Lancashire Evening Telegraph that she was happy to "face the music."

Dr Lyons, a senior house officer on the surgical ward five, arrived to find all the spaces full so she attempted to park her Fiat Cinquecento in the consultants' area where she saw several free spots.

But she claimed she was physically blocked by a parking attendant as she tried to drive into the area. She then backed into a space reserved for disabled people.

As she left to start her shift, Dr Lyons, who had just been for a hospital appointment at Manchester Royal Infirmary, was told that her car could be clamped.

She said: "I was absolutely furious. I had to park somewhere because I was on duty.

"Quite simply, any hospital should provide parking space for its staff. I am a junior doctor and hospitals cannot operate without their grass roots staff. There is a special parking area for consultants which is absolutely crazy. There should be a general parking area for all medical staff."

The car-parks are run for Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley NHS Trust by Universal Car Park Management Ltd.

Hospital site manager Ewen Dyda said it was an "unfortunate incident in the heat of the moment."

He said: "The car-park attendants have a difficult job and they do try and find spaces for staff, but they can only squeeze so many in. But all staff are in the same position and there is a restricted number of spaces.

"Like most hospitals, the senior medical staff have a separate area to park because they are in and out all the time.

"I have spoken to the car-park manager about this incident although I don't think there was any malice involved."

The parking crisis at the infirmary is becoming an increasing headache for hospital chiefs. They have already suggested introducing a park-and-ride scheme which would force staff to drive to Queen's Park Hospital and catch a minibus to the infirmary.

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