Scottish hospital nursery to close
Katy Morton
Monday, October 15, 2012
A hospital nursery in West Lothian, Scotland is at threat of closure as health chiefs say they can no longer afford to subsidise the setting.
NHS Lothian claims that it can no longer afford a subsidy in excess of £70,000 a year to keep open the Tic Talk Nursery, based in the grounds of St John’s Hospital in Livingston.
The nursery, rated as ‘very good’ by the Care Inspectorate, is registered to care for 43 children from birth to five and open exclusively to children of hospital staff.
Tic Talk Nursery has now stopped talking new enrolments and is set to close once all the children currently attending the setting leave to start pre-school.
A spokesperson for NHS Lothian said, ‘We have reviewed all nursery provision and as the Tic Talk Nursery at St John’s Hospital is not self-funding and receives a subsidy of more than £70,000 a year, we have decided it would be better to reinvest this money in frontline health services.
‘There have been significant changes in nursery provision in the area in recent years with nine nurseries now operating in the vicinity of the hospital.'
Parents whose children attend the Tic Talk Nursery have launched a Facebook campaign in a bid to overturn plans to close the setting. They have also received the backing of the Livingston MSP Angela Constance.
Writing on the nursery’s Facebook page one parent said, ‘I am devastated to hear the dreadful decision to close such a wonderful and much needed nursery. I currently have two children placed there and who have been since they were both babies. They have both grown to trust all the staff and feel settled and secure in their nursery environment. The nursery staff provide an invaluable service to NHS staff with the flexibility required to adapt to working rotas and shift patterns, such flexibility that cannot be met by other local nurseries. We cannot allow this to happen.’
The proposed closure of the Tic Talk Nursery follows news earlier this month that the setting at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, recently acquired by Busy Bees, will close in November.
The decision to close Acorns Nursery was taken by the previous owners Just Learning, because of concerns that the five-year construction of a new hospital next to the setting would be disruptive.
The nursery, rated as ‘very good’ by the Care Inspectorate, is registered to care for 43 children from birth to five and open exclusively to children of hospital staff.
Tic Talk Nursery has now stopped talking new enrolments and is set to close once all the children currently attending the setting leave to start pre-school.
A spokesperson for NHS Lothian said, ‘We have reviewed all nursery provision and as the Tic Talk Nursery at St John’s Hospital is not self-funding and receives a subsidy of more than £70,000 a year, we have decided it would be better to reinvest this money in frontline health services.
‘There have been significant changes in nursery provision in the area in recent years with nine nurseries now operating in the vicinity of the hospital.'
Parents whose children attend the Tic Talk Nursery have launched a Facebook campaign in a bid to overturn plans to close the setting. They have also received the backing of the Livingston MSP Angela Constance.
Writing on the nursery’s Facebook page one parent said, ‘I am devastated to hear the dreadful decision to close such a wonderful and much needed nursery. I currently have two children placed there and who have been since they were both babies. They have both grown to trust all the staff and feel settled and secure in their nursery environment. The nursery staff provide an invaluable service to NHS staff with the flexibility required to adapt to working rotas and shift patterns, such flexibility that cannot be met by other local nurseries. We cannot allow this to happen.’
The proposed closure of the Tic Talk Nursery follows news earlier this month that the setting at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, recently acquired by Busy Bees, will close in November.
The decision to close Acorns Nursery was taken by the previous owners Just Learning, because of concerns that the five-year construction of a new hospital next to the setting would be disruptive.
