I TOOK a member of my family to A&E on Sunday, February 10 at 11.30pm.

She was seen immediately as she was displaying a life-threatening problem and admitted.

My friend and I had to walk to the main entrance of the hospital at 2am on Monday to pay the car parking fee after leaving my relative.

We had no cash for the machine (when attending A&E in January 2018 the change machine was out of order with instructions to go to Croft wing for change. This situation was the same 13 months later.) On reaching the machine in the main entrance I tried to pay with a card and could find no instructions to follow, so I was unsuccessful in my attempt.

My friend and I managed to find enough change but the cash slot was blocked and was unable to accept the cash.

After 35 minutes in a deserted main entrance, in a state of anxiety and stress, I abandoned my attempts at trying to understand the system and pay the fee.

I rang the number on the machine with the answerphone saying not available until the next morning.

I rang at 9am on Monday to get a recording saying there might be a wait of five minutes – 10 minutes later the phone went dead. This happened three times.

I have used car parks at Whiston and Liverpool Royal hospitals and although I deeply disagree with having to pay for parking, I have managed to do so without the stress and anxiety the Warrington Hospital system caused.

I am a calm person normally, but the experience in the car park caused me anger and stress in a very emotional situation.

NAME AND ADDRESS SUPPLIED