"i attend for outpatients very ..."

Please accept our apologies for the delays you experience in the outpatient department. The Trust agrees that a two hour wait is unacceptable. The outpatient department keeps to a strict clinic template which is never overbooked unless requested by the consultant. However this dependent upon the speciality and the consultants decision to perhaps send the patient for further investigations during their outpatient visit (for example an eye patient may be seen by an orthoptist as well as a consultant in the same appointment). It is more beneficial for those patients to be seen by other specialists in the same appointment but this can cause a little delay for others on the list.

The Trust is continually working towards reducing waiting times in outpatients, however there are certain peak times when the department is busier than usual.

We are aware that car parking is a big issue at Macclesfield. We are working towards resolving this, making the provision of disabled parking a priority. A new Travel Plan for the Trust has been launched following public and staff consultation. Staff are encouraged not to travel to work by car. A number of staff now use an off-site car park, and other groups of staff have been moved to office accommodation away from the main hospital.

6.2% of car parking spaces on the Trust site are accessible for wheelchairs. This exceeds the NHS Audit Commission 1998 standard which states that “at least 5%-6% of parking provision should be accessible to wheelchair users". The Trust Disability Equality Group are also working towards improving the availability of disabled parking spaces.