STAFF at Queen's Park Hospital have threatened to quit after it was announced the on-site nursery faces closure to help stem multi-million pound debts.

Parents dropping their children off were told health bosses could no longer afford to subsidise the nursery and that it is likely to close within three months.

Nursery staff were called into a meeting with hospital bosses to be told of the closure - part of measures to claw back £5.5million debt.

They were invited to come up with ideas on how they can make cutbacks to save the nursery and will meet again in two weeks for a final decision.

But East Lancashire Hospitals Trust, which runs the hospital, admitted there was a "strong likelihood" the decision will be to close the nursery.

The trust said the nursery needed £110,000 to bring it up to modern standards, which it simply cannot afford.

Parents of the 32 children who use the nursery are employees of the hospital and see the nursery as vital for looking after their children while they are at work. And they have reacted furiously to the plans.

The were today due to receive a letter from the hospital informing them of the situation.

Senior radiographer Jon Hart said he will quit his job if the nursery closure goes ahead.

The 34-year-old, of Grenada Close, Lower Darwen, pays £370 a month for his four-year-old daughter to attend the nursery five days a week.

He said: "My daughter was only going to be at the nursery for another few months before starting school. I can't expect her to settle into another nursery for just three months - there's no point.

"If they close the nursery I'm simply not going to work for them anymore, which is a shame because they can't afford to lose a multi-skilled senior radiographer.

"Tony Blair talks about getting the working parents back to work by providing more childcare places but it's obviously a load of rubbish. I can work anywhere I like. Why would I want to work for a trust which turns its back on parents?"

Children's Ward sister Carol Nixon-Taylor, 40, of Hoddlesden, said her three-year-old son has been would find it difficult to settle into a new nursery.

She said: "It's sad that it's come to this all because the trust is in debt. We see the effects of this debt every day. On the wards we've stopped buying things to save money."

Another parent, who asked not to be named, said: "I could have dropped to the floor when the staff told me the nursery was going to close. They said we will be given details for other nurseries in the area but I feel safe at the moment having him on the work premises and it's convenient. You can't just move your children around like sheep."

Although parents pay fees similar to those charged at private nurseries the trust pays a £86,000-a-year subsidy to boost staff wages as NHS pay is higher than that offered at private nurseries and most of the nursery's staff are long-term employees at the top end of the pay scale.

Elaine Baker, East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust director of personnel, said cutbacks had to be made, particularly in non-clinical areas and where value for money was a doubt.

She said: "The Trust has been examining the financial viability of the day nursery for some months. At present, the nursery is subsidised to the amount of £86,000 per year and our aim has been to explore whether or not this subsidy could be removed and the nursery become self financing. We have looked at a whole range of options but unfortunately none have any significant effect on the current level of subsidy.

"The nursery has a number of deficiencies in terms of the accommodation, service provision and running costs. £110,000 is required to improve the condition of the building in the short term. The nursery does not have long enough opening hours or weekend/bank holiday provision. There is currently no provision for 0 to two-year-olds and the unit cost is high, caused partly by the relatively small size of the nursery and high staff costs.

"A meeting has been arranged for March 29 to continue discussions with the staff but what is apparent is that there is a strong likelihood that our next meeting may culminate in a decision to close the day nursery at some future date."

Unison officer Karen Narramore, who represents workers, said: "A final decision has not been made but unless staff and the union come up with substantial savings it is looking very bleak. We are concerned for the staff who are to be re-deployed or who face possible redundancy."

In August nursery fees went up by 30 per cent in a bid to save money, bringing the childcare charges in line with those at private nurseries.