Plans to build a multi-storey car park to solve Dorset County Hospital's parking problems are to be discussed at a drop-in event for residents.

It is part of proposals by the hospital trust to develop the Dorchester site and expand services.

If approved, the multi-storey car park would be built at the south-east corner of the hospital site, where Williams Avenue and Damers Road meet near the traffic lights.

Moving the parking to this corner would free up land so the trust can expand its Emergency Department (ED) and Intensive Care Unit (ICU) as well as establish an Integrated Care Hub.

As part of the proposals, the trust is also working to develop the land it owns on the site of the former Damers School and the current trust headquarters to include a mix of health and care related facilities and housing.

This would help to raise money to help pay for the cost of the clinical facilities building work.

Discussions have been going on for a long time to come up with parking solutions at DCH as there is a chronic shortage of space.

Residents are invited to find out more about the plans in a drop-in event on Wednesday, July 17 from 3pm to 7pm in the West Annex building on the old Damers School site in Damers Road.

Representatives of the trust and its estates development partner Prime will be on hand to answer questions and gather feedback. A planning application is due to be submitted later in the summer.

The Trust’s Director of Strategy, Transformation and Partnerships Nick Johnson said: “Our Emergency Department now deals with twice as many patients as it was originally designed to cope with. Demand is only going to rise in the future so we need to expand and redesign the department to make it fit for purpose.

“Similarly, our Intensive Care Unit needs to be expanded so we can cope with the increased demand and provide care in the best environment possible.

“Building the multi-storey car park will free up the space we need on our site to expand ED and ICU and create the hub.

“The Integrated Care Hub will bring staff and services together on site to allow us to get patients home safely in a timely way as well as help avoid unnecessary hospital admissions.”

More information about the hospital’s plans will be available at dchft.nhs.uk. Queries and feedback about the plans can be sent to masterplan@dchft.nhs.uk