VISITORS and patients at Wigan, Wrightington and Leigh Hospital will now have to pay more for parking.

The hospital introduced the new charges this month – increasing the hourly charge by 50p.

Visitors will now pay £1.50 for up to an hour, which is only available at Wrightington and Thomas Linacre Centre, £2.50 for up to two hours, £4.50 for two to four hours and a £1 jump to £6 for all day parking.

A 30 minute free parking facility has also been introduced.

Over the past few years, the Trust has invested over £2m in additional car parking facilities in order to make extra spaces for patients and visitors.

A spokesman said that the new charging scheme has been introduced to allow more flexibility in the time periods.

He said: “We have increased car parking capacity for our visitors at the Thomas Linacre Centre and Wrightington Hospital, with particular emphasis on increasing disable car parking spaces.

“Feedback from Wigan Infirmary users suggests parking on the site is now much easier than it was in the past.

“When possible we will be looking at further opportunities to improve parking and accessibility for our patients and visitors.”

Resident Samantha Brown said: “I'd rather they had the type of machine where you get a ticket and then pay when you leave and the pay is on a sliding scale.

"Another thing to consider is that if they make the parking too expensive people will start using the hospital ambulance pick up service which is a drain on the system and taking away a service that is vital for many people.”

A trust spokesperson said they do have a concessions service in place for patients undergoing regular treatment, patients attending weekly clinics and for visitors of patients in hospital for more than 14 days.

The Trust added:“The revised pricing aims to be as fair and equitable as possible for all car park users.”