The NHS’s largest mental health trust has been accused of undermining the well-being of its own workforce by closing the staff nursery, even though it is a “lifeline” for them.
Dozens of doctors, nurses and other staff at South London and Maudsley (SLaM) rely on the capital and are faced with having to find alternative childcare because of their decision.
The loss of the nursery has caused frustration and anger among the staff. They claim the closure adds to the stress levels experienced by overburdened staff and flouts the trust’s commitment to improving the working lives of its staff.
The nursery will close its doors in the summer of next year as part of a massive redevelopment of the trust site, including the demolition of Mapother House, where it is based. This and other older buildings are being demolished as part of a plan to give the trust new treatment facilities that is being financed in part by the construction of 187 new homes on its land.
Health staff and unions have warned that the closure will deepen the trust’s problems in recruiting and retaining enough staff to care for adults and children with serious mental health problems.
Affected staff are concerned that while the trust plans to include a daycare center in the new buildings it will get as a result of the refurbishment, the replacement facility will not open until 2027-28.
A trustee official tried to allay staff concerns, saying that SLaM would provide a temporary nursery to fill the gap of years between its closure and the opening of the new facility.
A petition protesting the closure of the Cedar House daycare center garnered more than 1,300 signatures in a matter of days, and dozens of employees signed a letter expressing their “concern and dismay.”
In a section titled “staff stress and well-being,” the letter laments what it says is the trust’s “apparent dismissal of a valued service and its front-line workers.” It seems counterproductive to remove a facility that has such a direct consequence on the well-being of staff.”
The nursery’s workers are “dedicated, compassionate and highly skilled,” and the fact that it remained open during the Covid pandemic allowed SLaM staff to keep working when other nurseries closed, it adds. The nursery stays open for unusually long hours, helping staff who work long shifts.
A child and youth mental health specialist nurse, who asked to remain anonymous, said: “I am on a lower pay scale than many and will really struggle to pay private nursery fees – our local nursery is £100 a day. . That, plus a London mortgage, means I am seriously considering whether it is feasible for me to continue working at the trust should Cedar House close.”
Jamie Brown, the London health chief for the Unison union, said: “Hospital childcare is crucial to enable NHS staff to work long shifts. Many tend to work outside normal business hours when other daycare centers are closed.
“Closing essential support services will place immense stress on employees who will be forced to seek alternative child care. Others may well quit for jobs elsewhere.”
Helen Hayes, Labor MP for Dulwich and West Norwood, has written to SLaM’s chief executive, Dr David Bradley, requesting a meeting about the closure. She worries about the potential loss of a facility “that is highly valued by parents, that offers exceptional quality early education and is affordable compared to other daycare centers in the local area”, she told The Guardian.
A spokesperson for SLaM said: “Childcare provision is important to us and we are proactively exploring the feasibility of an established childcare company providing childcare services to staff and hope to conclude this work soon.”
