Short cuts Nursery closures 'will hit outpatients and nurses'

Leicestershire and Rutland Healthcare trust is planning to close two nurseries at mental health units. Nursery users say the closures will stop outpatients from attending the units, and deter nurses from returning to work after starting families. A senior support worker said the move seemed to go against the government's policy of trying to encourage nurse returnees. But the trust says the nurseries are losing£50,000 a year between them. A spokesperson said it was trying to redeploy six full-time staff who will lose their current jobs in three months' time.