A HOSPITAL car park will be closed for six weeks as part of improvement work.

The main entrance car park at Leighton Hospital, off the Smithy Lane entrance to the site, will be closed from Monday, July 28, to Monday, September 8.

Work includes the creation of more disabled spaces, improved traffic flow and safer pedestrian access to and from the buildings.

Visitors will be redirected to the nearby staff car park located outside the maternity unit.

The number of visitor spaces available will not reduce during the works.

Pedestrian access to the main entrance and Macmillan cancer unit will be maintained while the improvements are taking place and alternative routes will be clearly signed.

The car park refurbishment is part of wider improvements being made to the main entrance at Leighton Hospital. Construction is now underway on the creation of the entrance’s new glass-fronted façade, incorporating an 80-seater café and a League of Friends-run shop.

In response to feedback from visitors and patients, visiting times at inpatient wards will also be extended from July 28.

Family and friends will be able to visit patients on adult inpatient wards anytime from 3pm until 8pm every day, with the exception of Ward Nine.

Previously, visiting times on most wards were restricted to separate afternoon and evening sessions.

Visiting times for maternity and paediatric wards, as well as Critical Care and Elmhurst Intermediate Care Centre in Winsford, will remain the same as they are currently, and further information is available online at www.mcht.nhs.uk/wards.

Julie Smith, director of nursing and quality at Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Patients benefit greatly from having their loved ones visit them during their hospital recovery, so we are very pleased that we are able to extend our visiting times.

“We also know that visitors appreciate this added flexibility as it makes visiting much easier to fit in with their other commitments.”

For information on the bus routes which serve Leighton Hospital can be found online at www.traveline-northwest.co.uk.