The Greenock Telegraph has taken to the streets to show why proposed cuts to hospital services should be scrapped.

Plans have been put forward to downgrade Inverclyde Royal Hospital, which would see many locals facing a journey to Paisley, so reporters Jody Harrison and Elaine Bowers decided to try the journey out for themselves.

Jody set off in his car, while Elaine had to rely on public transport, and while they both got to Paisley's Royal Alexandra Hospital in the end, it wasn't easy.

Jody told readers: "I hadn't tried to drive to the Royal Alexandra Hospital before and didn't take the precaution of asking for directions.

"To make this an authentic challenge I wanted to recreate the conditions thousands of Inverclyde residents will face if services are cut at Inverclyde Hospital, so the plan was just to head for the centre of Paisley.

"When I got there I would look for road signs or figure out the way using a road map. The last resort would be asking for directions."

As he set off at around 9am on Tuesday morning the roads were fairly quiet and he made good time into Paisley, but as he approached the centre of town there were signposts to be seen and he was faced with roadworks.

After a five minute hold up Jody continued, and soon spotted several signs to the hospital, which allowed him to reach his destination in 55 minutes.

He said: "It seemed easy. But I am an experienced driver, and this was a quiet time of day.

"It was clear from the number of junctions I travelled through that at peak times anything up to an hour could be added onto the journey.

"And I wouldn't like to speculate on the stress it would cause for someone who was trying to get to the RAH in an emergency."

Elaine's journey was also challenging, starting out on the train and then continuing by bus.

Fifty-five minutes and £4 later she arrived.

But although she was able to find her way and avoided any delays, she felt the journey might not be as simple for someone who genuinely needed hospital treatment.

She said: "My journey has taken 55 minutes and was very straightforward. There were no delays and I was able to find my way easily.

"However, someone who was in genuine pain, infirm or elderly is unlikely to appreciate the challenge."

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