THE very business of going to work can often put strains on people's family lives -- particularly those with small children for whom care has to be provided while their parents are busy at their jobs.

It is a situation that is frequently made more difficult by the lack of nursery provision locally or by the expense of it when parents have to resort to the private sector.

How encouraging it is, then, to see bosses at Burnley Health Care Trust responding to their employees' concerns over this.

For a survey they staged among staff last year about all aspects of their working lives revealed that the level of child-care provision at Burnley General Hospital was one of the main worries. Fewer than 10 per cent considered the facilities satisfactory.

The Trust has promptly paid heed and is now seeking planning permission for a new nursery at the hospital for employees' children. It will provide places for 56 youngsters, aged from three months to five years.

The new facility is expected to cost £360,000, but the Trust hopes that all the funding will be provided by the government, which is already pledged to increasing nursery provision nationwide -- particularly as a means of helping parents to go out to work.

The proposed development at Burnley General will help in an area where recruitment and retention of staff is extremely important. Adequate nursery provision could be said to be not just a benefit, but a necessity.