At the Daycare Trust's annual conference today I met a lady who recently learned that her job as sector lead for childcare for London will cease to be come March. She was flanked by NHS childcare co-ordinators from various London NHS trusts who all told me the same story: without this post there would be no sharing of good practice between NHS childcare co-ordinators, no way of feeding back to or influencing policy makers, and no-one with a strategic overview. They also reported a gradual culling of NHS childcare co-ordinator posts across the country as primary care trusts grapple with budgets.
The irony of stumbling across this story at a childcare conference entitled 'Putting the passion into policy' was not lost on any of us. The education secretary Alan Johnson wanted us to believe it was "incomprehensible" that any political party would put the campaign for better childcare "into reverse". Yet his government's decision to merge strategic health authorities has resulted in the loss of at least one key strategic childcare post, while PCT deficits have resulted in the loss or adaptation of frontline NHS childcare co-ordinator roles. Both these developments are undermining the NHS childcare strategy.
Not only does this whole situation smack of hypocrisy, it simply makes no sense. Having the childcare co-ordinators in place has saved trusts thousands of pounds. It has seen maternity returner rates dramatically improve. And, most importantly, it has helped NHS staff find the quality childcare they need to be able to go to work and play their part in caring for patients and improving lives.
Failing to fund and co-ordinate these posts is not only ludicrous, but sends out completely the wrong message to other employers about helping parents back to work. The government has scored a definite own-goal with this one.