PARKING at a Wallingford surgery has been described as ‘horrendous’ with patients having to re-book appointments. The town’s mayor Ros Lester, said the problem at Wallingford Medical Practice in Reading Road had worsened in the last six months and that she had been made aware of patients having to miss appointments because they could not find a space.

Maura Lennon, 86, from Wallingford said she missed an appointment at the hearing aid clinic and that some drivers had resorted to parking on the grass verges. She said: “Most of the time I haven’t had a problem but on one occasion I couldn’t find a space in the car park and had to leave and come back again another day.”

The practice, which has 16,000 patients, is the town’s only GP surgery and shares car parking spaces with Wallingford Community Hospital.

Town council leaders say problems with a lack of parking started when the Community Mental Health team relocated to the site last year from Townlands Hospital in Henley.

Councillors are now urging Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust to address the issue.

Mrs Lester said the ideal scenario would be for the trust to create a site for overflow parking.

She added: “This problem seems to have got worse in the past six months and needs addressing as soon as possible. It’s hard enough getting a doctor’s appointment so when you get one you don’t want to lose it.

Dr Tony Vernon, a GP at Wallingford Medical Practice, said the issue had been raised with Oxford Health with the surgery asking for extra spaces for the site.

Anna Babich, a spokesman for Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, said it was aware of the parking issues.

She said it recognised that parking was a “key concern” for patients and was planning to introduce travel plans across all its bases over the coming year, adding: “We are sorry that some site users have experienced car parking problems and are happy to talk to individuals who have concerns.”