"Car Parking Charges at Northwich Victoria..."

Dear Sir / Madam Thank you for your NHS choices posting with relation to the car parking charges in place at the Trusts Victoria Infirmary site (VIN). In terms of the reasons why we charge, the reality is that the Trusts charges for car parking to ensure that essential income will be raised to improve vital services and facilities. Income generated from car parking charges funds the provision, maintenance and security of our car parks - making grounds improvements, such as resurfacing, external lighting, pedestrian walkways and security barriers, improving the overall experience of visiting our hospitals. It also funds the provision of security staff and CCTV cameras, enabling the Trust to safeguard our staff, visitors and their cars. Without this income, we would have had to fund the car parking facilities out of our general budget. The extra revenue means we will have more money to spend on patient services. Any additional income generated from car parking charges, is put into patient services to improve the care and treatments we provide at our hospitals. For example, if you are a regular visitor to VIN you will notice that we have made significant improvements to the parking facilities outside of the Minor Injuries Entrance in terms of disabled parking and ambulance access. The Trust has also made improvements to rear entrance access road and pedestrian access. The Trust has also increased the provision of CCTV cameras on the site and integrated access control systems including video phone entry points. James Whittall, Security / Green Travel Development Co-ordinator