TRAFFIC was momentarily held at the John Radcliffe Hospital this morning due to an 'incident' on site.

Stagecoach Oxford advised passengers at 11am to allow for extra delays on their hospital routes due to the additional congestion at the Headington hospital.

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It tweeted: "John Radcliffe security are currently holding traffic in place due to an on site incident.

"Vehicles are currently stationary in the hospital grounds."

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In a further tweet 15 minutes later, it reported that the 'incident has now been cleared'.

Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has since confirmed that the delay was just due to an ambulance needing to get access.

A spokeswoman for the trust said: "We understand our security team was helping an ambulance get to the right place on our site."

An Oxford Mail reader, commenting on Facebook, said the queue in the car park was 'particularly bad' this morning.

Another said: "I went up there yesterday to see someone and had to turn back as [there was] nowhere to park, and I could not get near the hospital with workmen and vans."

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One woman added: "No idea what the problem was today, but I was there yesterday and there was nearly a riot in the car park! The situation is dire!!!"

Another patient commented: "I had an appointment for 10.25am and spent nearly 40 minutes watching the traffic lights change from red to green and back again.

"My hospital car driver finally let me out and I WALKED to the West Wing, getting to reception at 10.50. Nightmare."

Parking problems and congestion at the hospital has been an issue for years, and thousands of people have signed a petition calling for an increase in spaces there via a multi-storey car park.

The hospital trust has previously said it plans to file a planning application for a multi-storey car park, but that it would not create more spaces. 

This is due to Oxford City Council guidelines, which state there should be no overall increase in private car parking spaces in busy areas like Headington.