A massive increase in cr che fees at Barnet Hospital may force many nurses who use it to quit.

Some parents now have to pay £100 more a month to use the cr che's services at the hospital in Wellhouse Lane, which is a 23.6 per cent increase. The cr che now costs £1.86 per hour but will rise to £2.30 per hour from August 1.

One nurse who uses the cr che, and who was speaking on behalf of her colleagues, said: "We were only told about this two weeks ago and were not consulted about it. We had a 2.8 per cent increase recently and because of this fee increase it will not be worth me working here anymore. I may have to give up my job. This increase is a joke and we want it justified."

A spokesman for the hospital confirmed the fee rise. He said: "The cr che has been running at a considerable loss for a few years now and so we got to the point where we had to do something about it."

A group of parents using the cr che was consulted about the problem and was involved in discussions with workers from women's and children's services who run the cr che.

However, Margery Bagust, from the Royal College of Nursing, said: "It is clear that there is a national problem with the recruitment and retention of nurses. One of the ways of dealing with it is to have family-friendly policies, including affordable cr ches."

The hospital is looking at other ways to enable the cr che to keep going. One possible option would be to charge users per session, instead of per hour.

The cr che is predominantly used by staff, although patients and visitors also use it. The spokesman said: "It is a very popular service and one that we hope to keep going for a long time -- which is why we had to increase the fees."

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