By Siobhan Middleton

Copyright cambridge-news

Mothers in Cambridge have described their upset as a ‘lifeline’ crèche is set to close. The creche at the Nuffield Health Cambridge Fitness and Wellbeing Centre on Cromwell Road will shut down on October 1.

Nuffield Health informed staff members of the move and their upcoming unemployment on September 1. Customers described finding out about the closure on September 3.

The facility at the Cambridge gym is one of four crèches that Nuffield Health, a healthcare charity, has earmarked for closure on October 1. The other three are in Edinburgh, Wimbledon, and West Byfleet in Surrey.

CambridgeshireLive has heard from three mums who are upset about the prospect of losing the opportunities for self-care that the crèche provided. Find out what they had to say below.

‘I don’t want to consider what I will do without it’

Rend Platings, who has one-year-old twins, Yara and Zachary, has found the crèche to be a “lifeline”. She lives a four-minute walk away from the gym, on Coldham’s Lane, and uses the crèche for around two hours each day between Monday and Friday.

She commented: “The crèche allows me to work and do some training. It gives me a different quality of life, and provides the headspace to enable me to give my children better care.

“With twins, even just one hour to myself in a day is absolute gold. I do not even want to think about what I will do without the crèche.

“You could say I can get somebody to help me, but that is easier said than done. I am trying not to think about it, as I’m not sure what I will do.”

Rend started the Cambridge Ukrainian School on Jesus Lane, which runs classes on Saturdays to teach Ukrainian children about their culture and heritage. She spends some of her free time while Yara and Zachary are at the crèche doing work for this school.

Job losses will be ‘sad to see’

All three mums commented on the quality of care that their children enjoy at the crèche. Rend explained that her twins “don’t want to leave” when she picks them up. She also described how staff members had decorated the crèche, creating a space that is “really special”.

Soha Kassab’s daughter, Ayka Matbouli, has been using the crèche since the family moved from Liverpool to Cambridge in December 2024. Sohas described how the child, who was just two at the time, did not want to move and found the first weeks in her new home difficult.

This was where the women working at the crèche helped out, she explained, by supporting Ayka as she settled in to life in Cambridge. Sohas, who works remotely as a part-time finance manager, was also able to do some work in the café.

Now three-years-old, Ayka is registered with a nursery. Nonetheless, the family has continued to use the crèche during term breaks and bank holidays.

Sohas commented: “The ladies there are really great. It will make me really sad to see them lose their jobs, because they are all really lovely.”

Life ‘started to change’ as I gained time for myself

Anna, who did not want us to use her surname, joined the gym six months ago, after a friend mentioned the crèche. Between two and three days a week, she would make the three-minute bike journey from her home to the gym with her daughter, who is now three years old.

Not only did Anna’s daughter “love it” there, but the mum began to notice the freedom is gave her. She explained: “My life was starting to change, too, because I was able to exercise and have some time to myself.

“I started swimming, which created a whole new world for me. Without the crèche, I won’t be able to frequent the gym as often.”

Service ‘no longer viable’

A Nuffield Health spokesperson commented: “We have made the difficult decision to close the in-house crèche service at our Cambridge Fitness and Wellbeing Centre on 1st October 2025. In recent years we have seen a decline in usage of the creche across some of our centres, and, unfortunately, it is no longer viable for us to continue this service.

“We recognise this is challenging for some families and we regret the disruption it may cause to their health and fitness routines. We are also hugely grateful to our incredible crèche team for their hard work and care over the years.”