southmead hospital future accessibility study

Agenda Item 11 West of England Partnership Joint Transport Executive Committee 12 November 2009

Southmead Hospital Future Accessibility Study Purpose of Report 1. To inform members of proposed options to improve public transport access to

Southmead Hospital following the redevelopment of the Southmead and Frenchay Hospital sites and endorse them for consultation.

Background 2. The planned redevelopment of Southmead Hospital and redevelopment of

Frenchay hospital as a community facility will lead to significant changes to the travel requirements of patients in the North Bristol NHS Trust area. Southmead Hospital is also a major employer with some 4,500 staff rising to 6,500 following redevelopment.

3. A section 106 agreement made as part of the Southmead redevelopment proposals

has made available £0.5m per year for 3 years (£1.5m in total) to improve public transport services to the hospital for patients and staff.

4. Officers from the West of England Partnership Office, North Bristol NHS Trust,

South Gloucestershire, Bristol City and North Somerset Councils have produced a study to identify ‘gaps’ in public transport provision following the redevelopment and possible measures to fill them. A report on emerging work was presented to the Joint Transport Executive Committee on 16 July 2009. The final report is attached as Appendix One.

Scope of the Study 5. The study looked at:

• Where patients and staff are travelling from

• Current public transport provision

• Levels of accessibility for different times of the day

• Future West of England transport schemes

• Options for public transport improvements. 6. Throughout the study extensive use is being made of the Accession mapping

software to show how access to Southmead and Frenchay by public transport varies according to where patients and staff live.

Potential Options 7. This report examined current and future levels of accessibility and proposes the

following options for consultation:

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a) Extend existing bus services through the Southmead Hospital site, with provision of real-time information display screens on site;

b) New orbital bus routes with a regular frequency throughout the day - one serving Frenchay (potentially transferring to M32 Park and Ride once completed), Bristol Parkway, and UWE, and a second larger loop serving Yate and Frampton Cotterell, both marketed for Southmead Hospital;

c) And/or additional bus services to areas disadvantaged by the redevelopment such

as Hanham, Keynsham (by extension of existing 584 and 587 services) and potentially Yate;

d) The marketing of Bristol Parkway, UWE, Bristol city centre, and Cribbs Causeway

as an interchange for Southmead Hospital, as many bus services go directly from these locations to the hospital. The new road layout and potential for real-time information at the hospital would work well with this proposal. The provision of public transport information for Southmead across the whole study area should be considered;

e) Co-ordination between the booking of hospital appointments and community

transport providers to serve key towns on set days enabling greater patronage and potentially self-financing services.

Next Steps 8. The potential options outlined above will need to be consulted upon with patients,

visitors and staff members. It is recommended that the following methods are used:

� Summary leaflet detailing the proposed solutions distributed to staff, patients, and visitors by the North Bristol NHS Trust;

� Questionnaire inviting comments on proposed solutions; � Website information detailing proposed solutions with a link to the questionnaire

available to complete online. Website hosted by North Bristol NHS Trust; � Unmanned information stands during the consultation period at Frenchay and

Southmead Hospital sites, detailing the proposals with an opportunity to complete the questionnaire;

� Telephone information line inviting questions. � Bristol City Council and South Gloucestershire Council to brief Members and

carry out additional consultation as required. 9. The consultation period will last 12 weeks. Results and recommendations will be

reported to a future meeting of the Joint Transport Executive Committee. Recommendation

Members’ endorse the list of potential options for and methods of consultation.

Officer presenting the report: James White, West of England Partnership Office Tel. 0117 922 4924; [email protected]

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Appendix One Southmead Hospital Future Accessibility Study

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Wilder HouseWilder Street

BristolBS2 8PH

0117 903 6868www.westofengland.org

The West of England Partnership is the sub-regional partnership formed by the four councils working together with partners

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The planned redevelopment of Southmead Hospital and redevelopment of Frenchay hospital as a community facility will lead to significant changes to the travel requirements of patients and visitors in the North Bristol NHS Trust area. North Bristol Trust is a major employer in the area with over 9,000 staff delivering services mainly across Frenchay and Southmead hospital sites. Once the new hospital is built, staff numbers at Southmead will increase to 6,500 from the current 4,500 staff. A section 106 agreement made as part of the Southmead redevelopment proposals has made available £0.5m per year for 3 years (£1.5m in total) to improve public transportation to the hospital for patients and staff, and will be available 1 year before occupation. This report seeks to establish how best to use this money to improve the accessibility of the hospital.

Construction Timetable

Construction begins Spring 2010

Buildings ready for occupation 2014

Outstanding works including road and landscaping

2015

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This report will start by looking at the layout of the hospital site and the bus stops adjacent to it. Then it will look at where patients and staff are travelling from to get to Southmead and Frenchay Hospitals. It will then look at how much of the study area is closest to Frenchay and Southmead (the study area used in this report is shown on Figure 1). It will then move on to establish the current public transport provision to Southmead hospital, and the level of accessibility that this provides for people living in the study area in various different time periods. It will then look at the future situation and the impact that the sub-regions transport vision could have on access to the hospital. The report will finish off by establishing how best to improve accessibility to the site in the future given the problems identified through improvements to the public transport provision.

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Figure 1: The location of Southmead Hospital and the study area used in this report

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Figure 2 shows the location of bus stops on the roads adjacent to Southmead Hospital. The main hospital stops are on Monks Park Avenue (to the north of the site). These stops can still be 0.5km away from the part of the hospital the individual needs to attend, which could be an issue for the more infirm patients. As figure 11 shows lots of bus routes do not use Southmead Road or Monks Park Avenue, instead stopping on Filton Road or the A38 Gloucester Road. For these services there could be a long walk of up to 1km to get to the correct part of the hospital.

A free inter-site courtesy bus is provided, linking Frenchay Hospital, Southmead Hospital and Blackberry Hill Hospital up to every 30 minutes during the day, and this is anticipated to stop once the redevelopment has been completed. Services 584 and 585 (Kingswood and city centre to Sea Mills) are currently the only services which utilise stops within the site, due in part to the restricted road width and tight corners of the current hospital layout. The redevelopment will result in a much straighter, wider route through the site with stopping places for buses allocated (see figure 23 for a detailed site plan). This would enable many more bus services to travel through the site.

Figure 2: Bus stops and routes adjacent to Southmead Hospital

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Figure 3 : Staff Residence

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Figures 3 and 4 shows the home locations and numbers of staff working at Southmead and Frenchay Hospitals (the data is from 2008). This shows that some staff travel a long way to work at the hospital, but the majority live in the north of Bristol and South Gloucestershire, relatively close to their place of work. The majority of staff work within the surrounding areas of the two sites, with the top 10 postcode districts accounting for 70% of all staff. Yate and Chipping Sodbury are the only areas within the top 10 highest which are not in the immediate vicinity of either site. A number of staff will be employed in local community services, however there will be a number of staff who will have to travel from the surrounding Frenchay area to Southmead.

Staff Postcode District

Frenchay Southmead Combined

BS16 Frenchay, Downend, Fishponds 781 531 1312

BS10 Southmead, Brentry, Henbury 76 583 659

BS7 Horfield, Filton, Bishopton 143 509 652

BS15 Kingswood, Hanham 327 194 521

BS34 Stoke Gifford, Patchway 127 309 436

BS5 Easton, St George 220 216 436

BS9 Stoke Bishop, Westbury-On-Trym 83 305 388

BS6 Redland, Montpelier 112 255 367

BS32 Almondsbury, Bradley Stoke 122 204 326

BS37 Yate, Chipping Sodbury 173 136 309

Figure 4 : 10 highest staff populations by postcode district

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0.00%

10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

50.00%

60.00%

70.00%

80.00%

Southmead Frenchay

Bus

Car (as passenger)

Car (driver with one or morepassenger)

Car as driver (travelling alone)

Cycle

Minibus

Motorcycle / scooter

Other

Walk

Figure 5 is taken from the Travel Survey Report produced in March 2009, and shows the dominance of the single occupancy car for getting to the sites for staff. Southmead has a slightly smaller percentage of this category, however this mode dominates significantly. Dependence on the car is high at both locations, with staff car parking available at a low cost (approx. 1,630 spaces available at Southmead and 1,479 available at Frenchay, with prices dependant on salary with the maximum amount payable approx. 50p per day). Cycling is the second highest modal use with a slightly greater number of staff travelling to Southmead. With the redevelopment, this figure may change, as may walking, as staff currently based at Frenchay may find the extra distance to walk or cycle to Southmead as unacceptable and use another mode. However the cycling city project may encourage its use. Bus use is relatively low for both sites, although slightly higher to Southmead, probably due to the greater number of services which stop close to the site. With the redevelopment 2,700 parking spaces will be available, with a 25% allocation for patients. Visitors are charged to park on the site currently with the exception of those on kidney dialysis or disabled badge holders. Information on modal choice for patients is not available.

Figure 5 : Modal share for staff at both Frenchay and Southmead

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2004/5 ACTIVITY BY LOCATION

51%

44%

5%

Southmead

Frenchay

Other

Total Patients = Approx. 680,000

2013/14 ACTIVITY BY LOCATION

70%

10%

20%

Southmead

Frenchay

Other

Total Patients = Approx. 760,000

Figure 6 : Comparison of patient numbers by location – 2004/05 and 2013/14

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PPaattiieenntt AAccttiivviittyy BByy TTrreeaattmmeenntt TTyyppee As figure 6 demonstrates, Southmead will see a significant growth in patient numbers (an approximate 60% increase), with Frenchay seeing its share reduced by almost 75%. The majority of services will transfer to Southmead, but some will remain and also see an increase at other sites. A significant transfer of services is A&E/Minor Injuries and outpatients which will see a slight increase at Southmead but a greater increase at other facilities. A breakdown of where these ‘other’ facilities are located is shown below. This is important as although some areas may show a lack of accessibility to Southmead, many patients may have better accessibility to these local facilities.

2004/05 - 2013/14 Patient Comparison by Treatment Type (percentage)

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

80.0%

90.0%

100.0%

Southmead Frenchay Other Southmead Frenchay Other

2004/05 2013/14

Elective inpatients

Non-elective inpatients

Outpatients

Day cases

A&E/Minor Injuries

2013/14 'Other' category Patient Numbers by Treatment Type

(excluding Southmead)

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

14,000

16,000

18,000

Frenchay

Eastville

North Somerset

Cossham

Fishponds

Shirehampton

Thornbury

Yate

Hengrove

Outpatients

A&E/Minor Injuries

Figure 7 : Patient comparison by treatment type (percentage) – 2004/05 and 2013/14

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2004/05 - 2013/14 Patient Numbers Comparison by Treatment Type

(total number)

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

Southmead

acute

Frenchay Other Southmead

acute and

community

Frenchay Other

2004/05 2013/14

Elective inpatients

Non-elective inpatients

Outpatients

Day cases

A&E/Minor Injuries

The redevelopment will see a much greater number of outpatients needing treatment at Southmead in the future by both the acute and community services. All emergency care will transfer to Southmead with a minor injuries/minor illnesses service expected to be provided at Frenchay and other community locations. Non-elective inpatients are normally brought to a facility in an emergency and so accessibility has not been studied for this patient type. Southmead Hospital will be the only facility providing emergency admission and daycase services for the catchment area. For daycases, patients will attend for a morning or afternoon session and it is anticipated that the majority will not use public transport due to the nature of their condition. Therefore accessibility for these patients has not been examined either. Frenchay currently provides the emergency/A&E service for the catchment area (with the Southmead A&E department having closed in 2005) but will only provide a minor injuries/minor illness service once the new hospital is built at Southmead. Access to emergency and A&E facilities will be examined. Outpatients are the greatest number of patient type by a vast majority, so as well as staff these form the main focus of this study. A breakdown of where this patient type currently travels from is shown below in figure 9. Please note that despite there being a large number of patients visiting the facilities over the course of a year, most will only visit a small number of times. Staff will however be making 2 trips a day, which could equate to approximately 3m trips over the course of the year. Figures 9 and 10 show the home locations of different types of patients who need to get to Southmead Hospital. Probably more so than for staff, patients are prepared to travel a long way to get to Southmead. This effect is most pronounced for outpatients and daycases/inpatients, with minor injuries and emergency patients mainly coming from closer by.

Figure 8 : Patient numbers by treatment type – 2004/05 and 2013/14

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Figure 9 : Outpatient Origins

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Outpatients Postcode District

Frenchay Southmead Combined

BS16 Frenchay, Downend, Fishponds 1642 1581 3223

BS15 Kingswood, Hanham 1336 1112 2448

BS5 Easton, St George 1004 1029 2033

BS9 Stoke Bishop, Westbury-On-Trym 706 819 1525

BS37 Yate, Chipping Sodbury 748 685 1433

BS4 Brislington, Knowle 671 732 1403

BS20 Portishead 588 768 1356

BS7 Horfield, Filton, Bishopton 626 703 1329

BS10 Southmead, Brentry, Henbury 591 647 1238

BS30 Cadbury Heath, Warmley 635 589 1224

Outpatients are the greatest number of patient type. The location of these patients is spread out across the area, with no significant differences between Frenchay and Southmead. The top 10 highest number of outpatient locations are similar to the staff numbers shown in figures 3 and 4. Overall, the majority travel from the surrounding areas of the two sites, but as is the case with staff, many travel from the Yate and Chipping Sodbury area. The outpatient numbers do show however that the numbers are currently split fairly evenly between both sites. With the establishment of community services most patients will be able to reach a local service for outpatients and minor injury.

Figure 10 : The ten highest outpatient districts

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Figures 11 and 12 show the bus routes and frequencies that currently service the Southmead and Frenchay Hospital areas. There are a greater number of bus services which presently serve roads surrounding Southmead Hospital then Frenchay. The majority of these are direct bus services similar to those which serve Frenchay with some notable exceptions:

1. Hanham and Keynsham (currently served directly by the 318/319 and 4) 2. Yate, Frampton Cotterell and Winterbourne (currently served by 200 and 327/329)

However there will be some areas which are better served to Southmead:

1. South Bristol (Knowle, Hengrove, Bishopsworth, Whitchurch, Hartcliffe) 2. Henbury, Brentry, Westbury Park

As the patient and staff location maps show many people travel from these areas and will have greatly improved access. However many people are located in the areas which will not have any direct services particularly Yate and Hanham. As the maps show there is a relatively good level of service provision from the city centre to the hospital area, but lots of the services drop off passengers quite a distance from Southmead hospital itself (such as onto the A38), which may be an issue for the more infirm patients. With the exception of the intersite bus and the 584/585, no bus services run through the Southmead Hospital site. With the realignment of the road after construction, there is the potential for all bus services travelling around the perimeter of the site to divert through. Passengers travelling from outside of Bristol city centre and south and western areas of South Gloucestershire are less well served. North Somerset and the majority of South Gloucestershire north of the M5 and east of the M4 have no direct services to Southmead, but it should be noted that they also do not have direct services to Frenchay either.

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Figure 11: The current public transport provision in the vicinity of Southmead and Frenchay

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Operator Service Destination and Route Daytime Evening Sunday

First 4 Downend - City Centre 30 30 60

200 Chipping Sodbury - Frenchay Hospital 120 - -

STL 312

Thornbury - Fishponds via Alveston, Bristol Parkway, UWE, Frenchay Hospital

60 - -

318/319 Keynsham - Cribbs Causeway via Kingswood, Frenchay 60 - 60 First

327/329 Yate - Winterbourne - Bristol via Frenchay Hospital 60 120 120

517 Avonmouth - Shirehampton - Lawrence Weston - Coombe Dingle - Westbury - Southmead - Filton - Parkway Station

60 - -

Wessex Connect

518 Shirehampton - Lawrence Weston - Coombe Dingle -

Westbury - Southmead - Filton - Parkway Station - UWE - Frenchay - Downend - Emersons Green

30 60 60

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North Bristol

NHS Trust

Intersite bus

Southmead - Frenchay - Blackberry Hill 30-60 2 jnys -

Operator Service Destination and Route Daytime Evening Sunday

20 21 Rookery Farm - Hengrove - Knowle - Broadmead -

Kingsdown - Kellaway Avenue - Westbury/Southmead 30 30 30

First

309 310 Bristol - Thornbury via Cribbs Causeway (310 Bristol -

Dursley Via Thornbury - Wotton-under-Edge) 30 120 120


60 - -

Wessex Connect



30 60 60

First 54 54A Cribbs Causeway - Stockwood (Bristol City) Via

Southmead, Henleaze, Centre, Temple Meads, Knowle (54A via Charlton Road, Southmead)

15 30 30

584 Kingswood - Hillfields - Fishponds - Eastville - Lockleaze - Southmead - Brentry - Westbury - Coombe Dingle - Sea

Mills 60 - -

585 The Centre – Easton – Eastville – Lockleaze – Henleaze –

Southmead – Brentry – Westbury – Sea Mills 60 - -

586 The Centre – Easton – Eastville – Horfield –Westbury Park

– Redland – Clifton - Hotwells 60 - -

Wessex Connect

587 Kingswood - Hillfields - Fishponds - Eastville - Horfield - Henleaze - Westbury Park - Redland - Clifton - Hotwells

60 - -

75 Cribbs Causeway - Patchway - Filton - Horfield - Centre -

Bedminster - Bishopsworth - Whitchurch lane 10 30 30

First

76 Henbury - Southmead - Horfield - Bishopston - Gloucester Road - Centre - Bedminster - Bishopsworth - Hartcliffe

10 30 30

Wessex Connect

U5 UWE (Frenchay Campus) – Broadmead via Filton Avenue,

Clifton Down 30 30 -

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North Bristol NHS Trust

Intersite bus

Southmead - Frenchay - Blackberry Hill 30-60 2 jnys -

Figure 12: Current public transport timetables in the vicinity of Southmead and Frenchay

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The level of accessibility provided collectively by the current bus and rail services during the interpeak period is shown in figure 13. In order to show how accessibility across the study area varies at different times during the day a 2 hour time period was used. This is because of the large study area being examined. In reality this journey time would be deemed too long, but the maps do clearly show how public transport provision varies at different times.

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Accessibility to Southmead Hospital must be measured when the majority of people need to travel. These time periods have been established as visitor hours and staff shifts patterns. These are as follows:

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07:00 – 09:00 07:30 (staff) 08:00 (staff)

14:30 – 16:30 14:00 (staff) 14:30 (visitors)

15:30 (staff) 16:30 (visitors)

18:00 – 20:00 18:30 (visitors) 20:00 (visitors)

20:00 – 22:00 21:30 (staff) 20:00 (staff and visitors) 21:45 (staff)

Unlike staff start and end times, visitors could vary the times they arrive and leave, with some arriving or leaving earlier or later than the allotted time. Whilst the study periods may be slightly outside of the defined hours, they will still be relevant. Patient travel times will depend upon appointment times, which will be throughout the day. Therefore the study periods should be used as a general indicator as to how accessibility varies in the morning peak, interpeak, early evening and late evening. The factors taken into consideration for each accessibility time slot are:

1. Number and frequency of bus and rail services (and the time it takes to walk between stops and interchanges)

2. Congestion for each time period (generally resulting in slower services i.e. longer journey times in the morning and late afternoon peak)

Bus cuts introduced in May 2009 have been taken into account.

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Figure 13 : Access to Southmead and Frenchay Hospitals by public transport - Interpeak period (14:30-16:30) 2009

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Figure 14 : Current access to Southmead and Frenchay Hospitals by public transport (within an hour)- Interpeak period (14:30-15:30) 2009

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1144::3300 –– 1166::3300 IInntteerrppeeaakk

Figure 15 : Changes in public transport accessibility levels at different time periods during the day

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With acute services transferring to Southmead Hospital, the following community healthcare facilities will see an increase in local facilities for outpatients and A&E:

1. Frenchay 2. Eastville 3. Fishponds 4. Cossham 5. South Bristol (Hengrove) 6. Yate 7. Thornbury 8. Shirehampton 9. Clevedon 10. Portishead 11. Nailsea

Figure 16 above shows the accessibility to these facilities, as well as to Southmead. Although Weston General, BRI, and Bath RUH are not part of the North Bristol NHS Trust, they are facilities in the study area which people will be able to use. Accessibility to all of these sites shows the majority of areas have access within an hour, and shows better accessibility than when minor injury services were limited to Frenchay and Southmead.

Figure 16 : Accessibility to all community facilities within an hour

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Bristol Bristol has good accessibility to Southmead by bus, with the times varying slightly throughout the day due to congestion. The southern tip of the UA around the border with BANES has the lowest accessibility, however this does not have significant patient or staff origins. South Gloucestershire The areas immediately to the north and east of Southmead show good accessibility by bus throughout the day, however in a similar way to Bristol, journey times can vary depending on congestion. Eastern parts of the UA are less well served, with the exception of the area surrounding the A38 north to Thornbury, however even the northern part of this area accessibility decreases into late evening. Despite a lack of direct services, Southmead is accessible from Yate within 2 hours throughout the day; however late evening services reduce the frequency to at least a 2 hour trip which may be unacceptable for many travellers. North Somerset Accessibility here varies greatly throughout the day. The most accessible time of the day is the interpeak when congestion is low, however accessibility by bus remains patchy throughout the day, particularly southern and central areas. Weston-super-Mare is covered in the morning and interpeak, but even at these periods journey times remain around 2 hours. In the early and late evening periods accessibility reduces considerably. Access from urban areas such as Clevedon and Portishead is difficult. The shortest journey times from Clevedon vary from 80-95 mins with at least two bus changes, and from Portishead is between 60-90 mins, again with at least two changes. These journeys would be unacceptable for most patients and staff. Frenchay and Southmead Surrounding Areas At present, accessibility to Frenchay is within 45 minutes by bus for areas immediately surrounding the hospital and to the east (such as Kingswood, Hanham, St George, Fishponds, Mangotsfield, Downend, Hambrook and Winterbourne). When facilities transfer to Southmead, these areas see their journey times increase to over an hour and more in some areas. The area between Frenchay and Southmead (Filton, Lockleaze, Bradley Stoke) does not see any significant difference, and as expected areas surrounding Southmead and to the west have greater access. A summary of the change in percentage between current and future provision is shown below in figure 17. In the 60 minute bracket, 2.7% of outpatients and 10.8% of staff (based on current numbers) will have their bus journeys extended with the change. Within 30 minutes 15.3% of staff will have an extended journey time, however the number of outpatients living within 30 minutes by bus of the facility will increase slightly by 3.74%.

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Local Facilities Accessibility to local facilities at community hospitals for minor injuries services and outpatients shows that the majority of the study area has access to some form of service within 30 mins. Areas which have poor accessibility, even to these more local facilities are the southern areas of North Somerset and the north and eastern parts of South Gloucestershire.

30 mins 60 mins 30 mins 60 mins 30 mins 60 mins

Outpatients 13.62% 39.00% 7.16% 35.40% 10.20% 37.20%

Staff 36.17% 63.80% 22.21% 69.70% 30.80% 66.10%


Outpatients 13.62% 39.00% 10.90% 32.70% 12.20% 35.80%

Staff 36.17% 63.80% 6.91% 58.90% 29.20% 61.90%


Outpatients 0.00% 0.00% 3.74% -2.70% 2.00% -1.40%

Staff 0.00% 0.00% -15.30% -10.80% -1.60% -4.20%

Percentage change between present and future

Southmead Frenchay Combined

Southmead

Present

Frenchay Combined

Future (based on current figures)

Southmead Frenchay Combined

Figure 17 : Percentage of outpatients and staff within 30 and 60 mins of Southmead Hospital by public transport

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Figure 18 illustrates the improvements to public transport that are proposed for the study area as part of the West of England’s transport vision. Bus priority and highway improvement measures for A38 Gloucester Road were completed in 2004, but the forthcoming Greater Bristol Bus Network major scheme should see additional bus priority measures that feed into this. A Rapid Transit route is planned linking the city centre with a new Park and Ride site (near the M32), Bristol Parkway station and the North Fringe, with the route still being decided upon. This is scheduled for completion in 2015. The nearest station to Southmead is Filton Abbey Wood, approximately 3km walking distance away. The station has a half hourly train service for most of the day. Bus services U1, U5, 73, and 517/518 connect the station to Southmead, although there is a short walking distance from station, and from the nearest stop to the hospital, which may be unsuitable for more infirm patients. Staff and visitors could potentially use the station to walk or cycle from. Less than 1% of staff, patients and visitors access Southmead by train. The Greater Bristol Metro proposes half hourly cross Bristol train services on the Yate to Bristol Temple Meads to Weston-super-Mare corridor. This would increase the number of trains serving Filton Abbey Wood. The Greater Bristol Metro is included in the South West’s list of Regional Funding Allocation schemes with a start date of 2017/2018. This puts the scheme beyond the redevelopment of Southmead. Reopening the Henbury loop to passenger services has previously been identified in the Joint Local Transport Plan Rail Action Plan as a long term scheme (post 2011). The former Henbury station site is 5km from Southmead. No funding has been identified for the re-opening of the line. A study in 2003 concluded the scheme could not be supported on economic grounds with a £7 subsidy per passenger journey and £4m of infrastructure (2003 prices) required. The former station site at Horfield (closed 1964) is closer at 1.5km to Southmead than Filton Abbey Wood. It is, however, unlikely that the station will be reopened. Based on new stations elsewhere in the country costs would be a minimum of £5m. Notwithstanding issues of demand and value for money this is beyond the scope of the £1.5m public transport contribution in the Southmead Section 106 agreement. Horfield is not included in the Greater Bristol Metro. Rail’s current and potential share of travel to Southmead is modest. Filton Abbey Wood station linked to connecting bus services has a limited role to play in providing access to Southmead and this should be promoted. New stations at Henbury and Horfield are unlikely to be funded.

The promotion and investment of the area as a ‘cycling city’ will encourage cycling as a mode. Whilst not suitable for the majority of patients, staff and visitors should be encouraged to use the improved cycle facilities across the area, and the hospital site should ensure adequate parking facilities.

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Figure 18: Planned transport improvements

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PPootteennttiiaall SSoolluuttiioonnss Marketing of Interchanges for Southmead Hospital There are a number of sites near to Southmead Hospital which are well served by buses and rail. Therefore a potential solution is to market areas which serve the rest of the study area as interchanges for Southmead Hospital. Locations nearby identified as good interchanges are Bristol Parkway Station, Cribbs Causeway, and UWE as these all have regular frequent services to and from Southmead Hospital – 517/518 from Bristol Parkway and UWE, and 54/A from Cribbs Causeway. Bristol city centre also has many services towards Southmead and could also be marketed as such. As figures 19 - 21 show, Bristol Parkway, UWE and Cribbs Causeway are all served well by bus services from across the sub region, particularly those areas that will be disadvantaged by the redevelopment of Southmead such as Yate, Hanham and Cadbury Heath. The implementation of the showcase bus corridors and Greater Bristol Bus Network across the area and in close proximity to the hospital site will improve bus reliability and journey times, making bus travel to the hospital a more attractive alternative. Any site marketed as an interchange should provide adequate waiting areas with refreshments and toilet facilities. In addition to a greater number of bus services, Bristol Parkway also has the benefit of providing rail access from North Somerset and South Gloucestershire, and potentially rapid transit in the future. The inclusion of UWE as a stop could also increase the commercial viability of running the service after the section 106 money ceases as the bus will connect the university with Bristol Parkway station where they could interchange to Cribbs Causeway, which are popular destinations for students. South Gloucestershire Council currently produce a guide on travelling to Southmead Hospital. Money could be invested to update this information with travel options, for the marketing of the interchanges, and also to ensure its widespread availability.

Service Destination and Route Daytime Evening Sunday

5 Downend - Oldbury Court - Bristol City Centre 20 30 30

24/25 Lockleaze - Ashton Vale 10 15 15

48 Emersons Green - Downend - Bristol City Centre 20 30 30

49 Emersons Green - Staple Hill - Bristol City Centre 20 30 30

70 UWE - Bristol City Centre - Temple Meads 20 30 30

312 Thornbury - Fishponds via Alveston, Bristol Parkway, UWE,

Frenchay Hospital 60 - -

318/319 Keynsham - Cribbs Causeway via Kingswood, Frenchay 30 - -

342 Chipping Sodbury – Yate - Bristol 30 60 120


60 - -



30 60 60

581 Hanham - Chipping Sodbury via Kingswood, Fishponds,

UWE 60 - -

587 Kingswood - Hillfields - Fishponds - Eastville - Horfield - Henleaze - Westbury Park - Redland - Clifton - Hotwells

60 - -

625 Severn Beach - UWE via Pilning, Cribbs Causeway,

Patchway (624 only two peak hour services) 60 - 3 services

Figure 19 : Bus Services to UWE

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Map of services to Bristol Parkway

Service

Destination and Route

Daytime

Evening

Sunday

312

Thornbury - Fishponds via

Alveston, Bristol Parkway, UWE,

Frenchay Hospital

60

- -

318/319 Keynsham - Cribbs Causeway via

Kingswood, Frenchay

30

- -

517

Avonmouth - Shirehampton -

Lawrence Weston - Coombe

Dingle - Westbury - Southmead -

Filton - Parkway Station

60

- -

518

Shirehampton - Lawrence Weston

- Coombe Dingle - Westbury -

Southmead - Filton - Parkway

Station - UWE - Frenchay -

Downend - Emersons Green

30

60

60

581

Hanham - Chipping Sodbury via

Kingswood, Fishponds, UWE

60

- -

625

Severn Beach - UWE via Pilning,

Cribbs Causeway, Patchway (624

only two peak hour services)

60

- 3 services

73/A/B

Cribbs Causeway – Bristol City

Centre via Bradley Stoke

12

30

30

Figure 20 : Bus Services to Bristol Parkway Station

28

Map of services to Cribbs Causeway

Service

Destination and Route

Daytime Evening Sunday

1

Cribbs Causeway - Broomhill via

Henbury and the city centre

12

20

30

309/310

Bristol - Thornbury via Cribbs

Causeway (310 Bristol - Dursley Via

Thornbury - Wotton-under-Edge)

30

120

120

318/319

Keynsham - Cribbs Causeway via

Kingswood, Frenchay

30

- -

40/40A

Cribbs Causeway - Old Market

20

30

30

482

#

Chipping Sodbury - Cribbs Causeway

120

- 120

54

54A

Cribbs Causeway - Stockwood (Bristol

City) Via Southmead, Henleaze,

Centre, Temple Meads, Knowle (54A

via Charlton Road, Southmead)

15

30

30

622

Cribbs Causeway - Lower Almondsbury

- Tockington - Olveston - Old Down -

Alveston - Thornbury - Tytherington -

Rangeworthy - Yate

120

625

Severn Beach - UWE via Pilning,

Cribbs Causeway, Patchway (624 only

two peak hour services)

60

- 3 services

73/A/B

Cribbs Causeway – Bristol City Centre

via Bradley Stoke

12

30

30

75

Cribbs Causeway - Patchway - Filton -

Horfield - Centre - Bedminster -

Bishopsworth - Whitchurch lane

10

30

30

X11/X14

Cwmbran – Newport - Bristol

60

- -

X25/X26

Weston-super-Mare - Cribbs Causeway

Via Clevedon, Weston-in-Gordano,

Portishead

60

- 120

Figure 21 : Bus Services to Cribbs Causeway

29

Orbital bus routes An alternative to the existing services to Southmead could be the implementation of new orbital bus routes, following a similar route to the existing intersite bus (which will cease after completion), but with a slight route amendment serving Frenchay, UWE, and Bristol Parkway at a 15 minute frequency. With these running, any person disadvantaged by the redevelopment would still be able to travel to Frenchay as they do currently, and then use this new bus service to Southmead, adding approximately 10 – 15 minutes to their journey. Frenchay would be used as an interchange in the short term with a view to using the M32 Park and Ride site once complete as this will serve a similar area but with the advantage of extra parking, better accessibility by other modes of transport, and adequate waiting facilities. Emersons Green Health Centre is another potential stop instead of Frenchay as it is also in close proximity to where the majority of staff and patients are located. A second orbital bus loop could follow the same route as the first but extended to the north east, connecting Winterbourne, Frampton Cotterell, and Yate, all areas which will be disadvantaged. Each orbital run of the smaller loop would take approximately 30 mins, with the longer Yate loop taking an hour and a half. Two bus services running each of the loops concurrently would result in a frequent and fast service between Frenchay, UWE, Southmead and Bristol Parkway with 5 services an hour running this smaller loop, and one every 45 minutes running the Yate loop. The proposed route for each loop is shown in figure 22. Each loop would run from Frenchay to Southmead (stopping at UWE), then to Bristol Parkway. This sequence is important as it will make the journey time from Frenchay to Southmead the quickest possible. A reduced service would run on Sundays and in the evenings, potentially one per hour. In addition to these bus services, rail access to Bristol Parkway is available for areas such as Weston-super-Mare and North Somerset towns on the main line, Bristol city centre, Bedminster, Lawrence Hill, Stapleton Road, Filton, Patchway, and Yate. With the addition of all of these services which tap into the proposed interchanges, the areas most disadvantaged by the redevelopment will retain access on a regular basis, with only a small increase in journey times. This would be the most expensive option but would benefit the majority of those disadvantaged by the move. The cost of each orbital bus in the loop would be approximately £100,00 per bus per annum. This would be enough to provide the proposed number of 4 orbital buses to provide a regular frequent service. As the section 106 money will only be available for 3 years, the service should aim to serve as many people as possible to ensure it can continue once the money ceases. The inclusion of Bristol Parkway and UWE should ensure this. In addition to these stops, the provision of an extra stop in Filton would increase patronage due to the number of businesses and student accommodation in the area. Improved Bus Services With the relocation of services to Southmead, areas identified as being at a disadvantage are Yate, Winterbourne, Hanham, and Keynsham. Therefore new services could be provided specifically aimed at these areas, although the long term commercial viability of these services may be limited. For Hanham and Keynsham, services 584 and 587 could

30

Figure 22 : Suggested orbital bus routes

31

have their routes extended slightly to serve Hanham and Keynsham, potentially following the same route as the 318/319 and 4 which at present gives these areas a direct route to Frenchay, therefore enabling a direct route to Southmead, albeit with an extended journey time. An alternative to this suggestion could be to link existing services from these areas to the potential orbital service interchanges connecting Frenchay with Southmead. This could involve adding additional stops on existing services but would not result in any direct services. The cost of extending these services will vary depending on the patronage numbers, but could potentially be implemented with little or even no subsidy. Service 517/518 which currently serve Bristol Parkway and UWE are subsidised by Bristol City Council and South Gloucestershire Council. There is the potential for some of this subsidy to be either reduced or incorporated into the orbital route. Romney Avenue Bus Link The Romney Avenue bus link is a proposed scheme which would provide a bus only route from Coldharbour Lane to Romney Avenue. This route will enable bus services to bypass the congested ring road around the Filton Avenue and A38 Gloucester Road junctions, decreasing journey times. If the proposed Frenchay/Bristol Parkway orbital bus comes into service, it could utilise this route and also include UWE as another stop. As a scheme on its own, the bus link would not be used by enough services, if any, travelling to and from Southmead Hospital. Community Transport Patients travelling long distances will have a problem reaching Southmead, just as the majority do currently to Frenchay. Community transport schemes are a good way in which rural or less accessible areas can increase accessibility without running commercial bus routes which may not be commercially viable. At present community transport schemes are operating in Yate, Kingswood and the Four Towns Vale Link. The key to maximising the potential of community transport schemes is to ensure the hospital adopts a co-ordinated appointment booking facility. Key towns should be served on set days for appointments, as this will ensure the maximum patronage for each community transport vehicle’s run. Similar schemes are currently working successfully in Somerset and Cheshire. The advantages of co-ordinating appointments based on specific areas is that less services are able to run making it more cost effective, less appointments are missed due to transport issues, and due to increased patronage the services could potentially be self-financing. Park and ride services to Bath RUH currently operating in Bath do receive conditional funding, so it is probable any new Southmead services which didn’t co-ordinate appointments and ran on demand would too. Should the M32 Park and Ride go ahead, this may be an option for long distance travellers if a direct transport link could be provided.

32

Re-routing existing bus services through the site As figure 2 demonstrates there are a number of bus services which currently run around the site along Monks Park Avenue and Southmead Road. There are also a number of services using the A38, one of the main bus corridors linking the city centre to the northern areas. With the new road layout, there will no longer be width restrictions within the site, enabling buses to travel through and utlilise specified bus bays. A new site plan is shown in figure 23. Many services could make a short diversion through the site and back onto the A38. In order for commercial bus services to divert through the site, there has to be advantages to them doing so. Increased patronage and shorter journey times would encourage this. If possible a bus only or restricted access corridor through the site would also give them a benefit. The A38 has recently been made a showcase bus route, and has also become part of the Greater Bristol Bus Network. Both schemes improve bus journey times and reliability, as well as providing real-time travel information at stops. Due to its close proximity to this bus corridor, some of the money could be used to link the hospital with real-time information displays at the main Southmead bus stop within the site. A future bus route review which may go ahead could ensure services are routed through the hospital site.

Potential Solutions and Patronage Figure 24 demonstrates how the proposed solutions will benefit the majority of people disadvantaged. The inclusion of marketing Southmead services from Cribbs Causeway, Bristol Parkway and UWE would increase accessibility to Southmead to travellers from further afield due to their interchange potential. With Frenchay as an interchange for new dedicated orbital services, it is assumed that all commercial buses servicing the site will continue to do so as none are dedicated to only serving Frenchay, they continue to other destinations. Therefore the only additional journey time for people getting to Southmead will be the journey time of the new orbital bus service from Frenchay. The extended bus services to the south east of the area clearly show areas with journey times of over an hour will benefit from a direct bus service.

33

Figure 23 : Southmead Hospital redevelopment site plan

34

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Figure 24 : Current accessibility to Southmead with staff/outpatient origins and suggested new orbital bus routes and extended bus

services

35

SSStttaaaffffff

36

SS Suu umm mmm maa arr ryy y oo off f pp prr roo obb bll l ee emm mss s aa ann ndd d pp poo ott tee enn ntt tii i aa all l ss soo oll l uu utt tii i oo onn nss s

PPrr oobbll eemm

SSooll uutt iioonn

� A lack of bus routes travelling through the site. The majority

stop on roads surrounding the site rather than travel through it

• Speak to existing public transport providers and request a slight route

diversion through the site for services well used

• Add real-time bus information displays at the hospital site

• Implementation of orbital bus routes which will specifically serve stops within

the site

� The majority of staff travel to both sites as single car drivers

• Encouragement of staff through a travel plan to consider alternative forms of

transport. The cycling city project will help encourage the use of the bike, with

improved cycle routes. Filton Abbey Wood rail station is within cycling distance

� Transfer of emergency department and outpatient services will

result in 2.7% of outpatients that would currently be treated at

Frenchay having to travel further. Over 10% of staff currently

working at Frenchay will see their journey time extended to

over an hour

• Implementation of orbital bus routes connecting Frenchay directly to

Southmead to reduce this increase in journey time as much as possible

� Yate, Hanham, Keynsham, Frampton Cotterell and

Winterbourne have direct bus services to Frenchay but have

no direct bus services to Southmead

• Implementation of orbital bus routes linking nearby interchanges which have

good bus services to these areas (Bristol Parkway, UWE). Bristol Parkway

should be included to enable rail access from areas such as Yate, Weston-

super-Mare and Bristol city centre

• Additional bus services added specifically to serve these areas. The 584 and

587 could be extended slightly to ensure Hanham and Keynsham retain direct

bus route access to facilities, mirroring services 318/319 and 4 which link

these areas directly to Frenchay

� Accessibility to areas directly surrounding Frenchay will see an

increased journey time of approximately 30 mins

• Implementation of orbital bus routes to reduce this increase in journey time as

much as possible

� Current access to Frenchay and Southmead Hospital is poor

to North Somerset and northern and eastern parts of South

Gloucestershire (approximately 2 hours or more). These areas

are particularly poorly served in the evening

• Marketing of interchanges will enable a much wider area to be served by

public transport

• Implementation of community transport schemes

� Southmead Hospital is not close enough in walking distance to

any rail services

• Implementation of orbital bus routes linking Bristol Parkway station on a

regular basis

37

CCoonnssuullttaattiioonn Potential solutions and ideas will need to be consulted upon with patients, visitors and staff members. Recommended methods for consultation: � Summary leaflet detailing the proposed solutions distributed to staff, patients, and

visitors by North Bristol NHS Trust; � Questionnaire inviting comments on proposed solutions; � Website information detailing proposed solutions with a link to the questionnaire

available to complete online. Website hosted by North Bristol NHS Trust; � Unmanned information stands during the consultation period at Frenchay and

Southmead Hospital sites, detailing the proposals with an opportunity to complete the questionnaire;

� Telephone information line inviting questions; � Bristol City Council and South Gloucestershire Council to brief members and carry out

additional consultation as required. The consultation period will last 12 weeks, with a report completed after this period.

CCoonncclluussiioonnss Southmead Hospital is undergoing redevelopment and as part of this, £0.5m pa is available for 3 years to help improve public transport to the hospital. Alongside this, Frenchay Hospital will see its patient and staff numbers decrease as it is redeveloped into a community facility, as well as seeing a number of other facilities across the sub region having additional services as they are also redeveloped into community facilities. This report has shown that patients and staff travel long distances to get to Southmead Hospital, but the majority of staff are focused in the areas directly surrounding Frenchay and Southmead Hospitals. Current levels of transport provision are generally good to areas directly surrounding the site, namely north Bristol and south and western parts of South Gloucestershire. Bristol as a whole is well served. Eastern and northern parts of South Gloucestershire and North Somerset generally are not particularly well served, with many areas having journey times of 2 hours or more. The future transport improvements proposed for the north of Bristol should help to provide a more reliable and faster public transport system, but the current proposals do not link in well with the hospital, meaning that these benefits will be lost on those wishing to travel directly to the hospital. Additional public transport services could utilise some of these aspects, such as the bus improvements planned with the Greater Bristol Bus Network, but their impact will be small. Aspects of the scheme such as real-time information at the hospital as well as the re-routing of buses through the site could bring some of these benefits to the site. Future rapid transit routes will allow better accessibility to certain areas in the northern fringe, which if linked with Bristol Parkway Station and UWE could allow the areas to become an interchange.

38

This report has examined current and future levels of accessibility and makes the following recommendations for consideration: 1. Extend existing bus services through the Southmead Hospital site, with provision of

real-time information display screens on site; 2. New orbital bus routes with a regular frequency throughout the day - one serving

Frenchay (potentially transferring to M32 Park and Ride once completed), Bristol Parkway, and UWE, and a second larger loop serving Yate and Frampton Cotterell, both marketed for Southmead Hospital;

3. And/or additional bus services to areas disadvantaged by the redevelopment such as

Hanham, Keynsham (by extension of existing 584 and 587 services) and potentially Yate;

4. The marketing of Bristol Parkway, UWE, Bristol city centre, and Cribbs Causeway as

an interchange for Southmead Hospital, as many bus services go directly from these locations to the hospital. The new road layout and potential for real-time information at the hospital would work well with this proposal. The provision of public transport information for Southmead across the whole study area should be considered;

5. Co-ordination between the booking of hospital appointments and community

transport providers to serve key towns on set days enabling greater patronage and potentially self-financing services.

Option Approximate cost

1. Re-routing of existing services – zero cost Cost of providing IT and equipment for real-time displays, although some wiring infrastructure will be in put in place during the development

2. Each bus will cost £100,000 pa, therefore total cost of £400,000 if recommended 4 bus operation over two loops. Costs assume revenue from fares

3. Zero cost if revenue from additional stops is cost effective, otherwise revenue support required

4. Cost absorbed into marketing budget of new hospital

5. Potential cost of IT services if a new booking system is possible

NNeexxtt SStteeppss

1. Recommendation of the proposed solutions

2. Approve the consultation proposals

3.

Agree the establishment of a joint working group involving South Gloucestershire Council, Bristol City Council and the North Bristol NHS Trust to: - oversee the detail of the consultation; - to develop the proposals.

southmead hospital future accessibility study

Documents