Health workers in South London could be forced from the NHS if two affordable workplace nurseries used by hospital staff are closed without alternatives provided by their employers.
The Cedar House Nursery, used by staff at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, and the King’s College Hospital Day Nursery are due to close next year to allow development of the building they share. Neither trust appears to be planning to offer parents dependent on the facilities alternative childcare provision, says UNISON.
Already under-pressure staff are now anxious at the prospect of having to find new, more expensive childcare, warns the union. Health workers protested today outside the Cedar House nursery at Mapother House to persuade trust managers to think again.
Hospital managers’ refusal to provide staff with alternative childcare for the five years while the work takes place has bewildered parents, unions and local politicians.
Dulwich and West Norwood MP Helen Hayes also joined the protest, joining staff dismayed by the decision to close the two well-used facilities.
Workers already struggling to make ends meet are terrified of the prospect of being clobbered by costly additional nursery bills should they need to find other places for their young families while they’re at work.
With vacancies across the NHS running into the tens of thousands making it harder for working parents to stay in the health service, or re-join the workforce, the closures makes little sense, says UNISON.
Twenty nursery worker jobs are also on the line. Managers at the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust have refused to guarantee workers their jobs when the Cedars nursery reopens, says UNISON. Worried staff at King’s College Hospital Day Nursery don’t even know if their nursery will reopen at all.
Desperate workers want the trust to work with them and UNISON to find solutions they can afford, the unions says. Staff are nervous that hospital managers will use the closures as cover to privatise the nurseries – driving standards down, prices up and highly-trained nursery staff out of work, UNISON says.
Nursery user and Maudsley Hospital psychiatrist Dr Rowena Carter said: “The nursery is a real lifeline for me and my family. Having quality childcare right next to my workplace makes being a working parent so much easier.
“The nursery staff have been amazing throughout the pandemic. Because the nursery remained open, when many other childcare providers were shut, it meant frontline NHS staff like me were still able to be a key worker and a parent during the pandemic. Without the nursery I won’t be able to continue the additional patient care work I do now.”
UNISON head of health Sara Gorton said: “Hospital-based childcare is crucial in allowing NHS staff to work long shifts. Many often work outside normal working hours when other nurseries are closed.
“It’s hard enough finding childcare spaces in London, let alone those flexible enough to fit around the working patterns of health employees.
“The NHS is under huge pressure and trust managers should be doing all they can to hold on to staff. Closing essential support services will place immense stress on employees forced to look for alternative childcare. Others may well quit for jobs elsewhere.
“Hospital bosses must think again, or they could lose experienced staff needed to see the service through the difficult months and years ahead.”
Local MP Helen Hayes said: “Cedar House Nursery provides vital high quality and affordable childcare on site for staff working at the Maudsley and the wider community.
“Parents working at the Maudsley are deeply worried about finding affordable local childcare if the nursery closes, whilst staff there need meaningful guarantees that they will be retained on the same terms and conditions.
“Senior managers at the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust must work with UNISON to protect jobs at Cedar House and ensure continuity of nursery provision throughout the redevelopment.”
Notes to editors:
– The protest has been organised by the UNISON South London and Maudsley NHS Trust Branch and took place today (Tuesday 19 April) at 1pm at the Cedar House Nursery.
– UNISON is the UK’s largest union with more than 1.3 million members providing public services in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in the public, voluntary and private sectors.
Media contact:
Nathan Burns M: 07813 722747 E: n.burns@unison.co.uk