"Poor design and parking facilities."

Thank you for your feedback. Patient comments are important to us and are an opportunity for us to make changes and improvements wherever possible. We would also like to take the opportunity to apologise for the delay in responding to your comments.

In response to your comment regarding parking, Altrincham General Hospital has 6 dedicated disabled parking bays which are for blue badge holders only. Patients who require a disabled parking space should telephone the Outpatient Reception on 0161 413 7701 in order to pre-book and reserve a parking space for their appointment. We are very sorry that this information was not communicated to you prior to your visit. Your concerns have been raised directly with the department involved and plans are in progress to add information regarding disabled parking requests to appointment letters.

With regards to steepness of the wheelchair ramp at Altrincham Hospital, we can confirm that the incline of the ramp was designed in compliance with EU regulations for disabled access. If you experience difficulties using any of the facilities in the future, please do not hesitate to ask for assistance at the main reception on the ground floor.

We are sorry to read that you have experienced problems negotiating the internal doors whilst pushing a wheelchair. Some of the internal doors must remain closed due to fire regulations. As advised above, if you experience difficulties please do ask for assistance at the main reception, where we are sure staff will be more than happy to help.

In terms of the x-ray bed adjustment, we have been advised by the Radiology Lead for Trafford Division that the new x-ray equipment in place at Altrincham Hospital adjusts to a very low height. If this was not your experience, we would suspect that the equipment was not adjusted correctly by the staff involved. Equally there are alternative methods available and many examinations can be performed in a chair or with the patient standing. On receipt of your comments the Radiology Lead has shared your concerns with the team and would like to reassure you that the team are now using the equipment appropriately.

I hope that our explanations offer you reassurance regarding your concerns and you will feel able to continue using the facilities offered by Altrincham Hospital.

If you think it would be useful to discuss your concerns with us in more detail, please feel free to contact our Patient Advice and Liaison Service on 0161 276 8686 or by e-mailing pals@cmft.nhs.uk

The Patient Experience Team

Central Manchester University Hospitals, NHS Foundation Trust

Thank you for your feedback, patient comments are important to us and are an opportunity for us to make changes and improvements wherever possible. We would also like to take the opportunity to apologise for the delay in responding to your comments.

In response to your comment regarding parking, Altrincham General Hospital has 6 dedicated disabled parking bays which are for blue badge holders only.

Patients who require a disabled parking space should telephone the Outpatient Reception on 0161 413 7701 in order to pre-book and reserve a parking space for their appointment.

I am very sorry that this information was not communicated to you prior to your visit.

Your concerns have been raised directly with the department involved and plans are in progress to add information regarding disabled parking requests to appointment letters.

With regards to steepness of the wheelchair ramp at Altrincham Hospital, we can confirm that the incline of the ramp was designed in compliance with EU regulations for disabled access.

If you experience difficulties using any of the facilities in the future, please do not hesitate to ask for assistance at the main reception on the ground floor.

We are sorry to read that you have experienced problems negotiating the internal doors whilst pushing a wheelchair. Some of the internal doors must remain closed due to fire regulations. As advised above, if you experience difficulties please do ask for assistance at the main reception, where we are sure staff will be more than happy to help.

In terms of the x-ray bed adjustment, we have been advised by the Radiology Lead for Trafford Division that the new x-ray equipment in place at Altrincham Hospital adjusts to a very low height.

If this was not your experience, we would suspect that the equipment was not adjusted correctly by the staff involved.

Equally there are alternative methods available and many examinations can be performed in a chair or with the patient standing.

On receipt of your comments the Radiology Lead has shared your concerns with the team and would like to reassure you that the team are now using the equipment appropriately.

I hope that our explanations offer you reassurance regarding your concerns and you will feel able to continue using the facilities offered by Altrincham Hospital.

If you think it would be useful to discuss your concerns with us in more detail, please feel free to contact our Patient Advice and Liaison Service on 0161 276 8686 or by e-mailing pals@cmft.nhs.uk

The Patient Experience Team

Central Manchester University Hospitals, NHS Foundation Trust