THE car park at County Hall will act as an overspill car park for frontline coronavirus workers in Worcestershire.

Barriers at Worcestershire Royal, Kidderminster and the Alexandra Hospitals have now been lifted to allow all hospital workers to park for free during the coronavirus crisis.

It comes after staff raised concerns about access to the three sites.

The trust has also confirmed that the car park at County Hall in Worcester will be used as a free overspill car park for Worcestershire Royal staff.

Matthew Hopkins, Chief Executive of Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust said: “At a time when our staff are working so hard to deal with the biggest challenge the NHS has ever faced, it is important that we do everything we can to help and support them.

“As part of a wider package of support measures, we have opened our car parks to all staff so that it is easy as possible for them to come to work if they need to be on site.

"This is free for all staff, whether they usually pay for a parking permit or not, and for those who do normally pay for a permit, we are arranging a payment holiday later in the year to make sure that all colleagues are treated equally.

“We have also received a generous offer of support from our partners at the county council for our staff to park at County Hall – again free of charge without the need for a permit at any time of the week."

For hospital staff that already pay for a parking permit, a payment "holiday" is being arranged later in the year.

Strict visiting restrictions have been introduced at the county's hospitals this week to reduce the spread of the virus, which includes a ban on visitors - apart from maternity and paediatric patients and people nearing the end of their lives.