THE Countess of Chester Hospital is asking members of the public for their view on its parking charge which last year netted almost £900,000.

Trust bosses want people to take part in an on-line survey concerning the £2 fee which helps fund improvements to parking facilities as well as making a contribution towards general patient care.

However, the hospital, which earned £891,000 from car parking last year, stresses it is the cheapest in the region compared with a minimum charge of £2.50 at Royal Liverpool University Hospital and £3 at Leighton Hospital.

Spokesman Andrew Duggan said: “The revenue generated from the £2 car parking charge, after paying for the fabric of the car-parks, barriers and 24 hour manned security, goes into general hospital funds.

“These funds can be used for any of the costs associated with running the hospital, including staff, equipment, buildings and other elements of patient care.”

He said the revenue had been used for various capital investments including the multi-million pound ward upgrade which was started in December 2007.

This year the hospital planned to make a total capital investment of £10.5m, in addition to the £10m that was invested last year.

He added: “Many patients and visitors are exempt from paying the charge, including patients on certain benefits, disabled badge holders attending an appointment, and families of patients in certain units.”

The Countess is also asking people for their views on the recently-introduced staggered visiting times as part of a pilot scheme to improve access to the hospital by easing car park congestion.

The Trust would like to receive feed-back from patients, visitors, members of staff and anyone else affected by the changes, to reveal how successful the new visiting times have been.

To take part in the two surveys, visit the Trust’s homepage – www.coch.nhs.uk – which has a link to the consultation page.

Mr Duggan added: “We would like to give as many people as possible the opportunity to voice their opinions on these two issues. Both surveys will only take a couple of minutes to complete and those participating in the consultation will be making an active contribution to the way our service develops.”