The clock is ticking to save Nascot Lawn, with parents saying that we may have less than a month to prevent a tragedy.

In his speech to the council on Tuesday, father David Josephs said that soon the staff will start having to look for new jobs as the centre is currently set to close on October 31.

This week county councillors voted unanimously to try and postpone the closure of Nascot Lawn until at least March 31.

The majority of councillors voted to change the original motion put forward by Cllr Nigel Bell, to amendments suggested by Cllr Teresa Heritage, responsible for children’s services in the county.

Statements such as “withdrawing this service will have disproportionate, negative impact on those who need access to respite care the most” substituted the word “will” for “may”.

Although all councillors are in favour of saving the centre, this does not provide a long-term solution for the sustained care of the families affected.

Herts Valley Clinical Commissioning Group (HVCCG) have formally been placed in “financial turnaround” by NHS England and are being forced to find savings of £45 million.

They argue that the respite services offered by Nascot Lawn are classified as more social than medical, and so argue it is something that should be funded by the council.

Head of the HVCCG Dr Nicolas Small said: “. Where the joint health and social care assessments show that children need health related support in any short breaks services we will work with the county council to make sure their health needs are provided for.”

But many of the children were referred to the centre because of their medical needs, and now the 60-80 children from across Hertfordshire who go to Nascot Lawn will need to be reassessed for their needs.

It has taken years for many of the children and families who use the facility to feel comfortable and safe there, and this upheaval will cause a great strain on all of them.

They argue that only keeping the centre open until the end of the financial year does not ease their burden and support for the most vulnerable people in society needs to be maintained.

Teresa Heritage, the county council's cabinet member for children’s services, said: “We fully appreciate this is an extremely anxious time for families and are working closely with partners, staff and parents to minimise the impact of this decision.

“We are disappointed that Herts Valleys CCG has decided to cease their funding contribution to short breaks services which means we will not be able to move forward with integrated health and social care provision we had been working together to achieve.

"We have taken legal guidance and it is clear from this that there is a shared duty to meet the support needs of disabled children and their families on both the county council and HVCCG, depending on the identified need.

“We are in contact with all families to undertake joint assessments with Herts Valley and East and North Herts CCGs to ensure a full understanding of children’s health and social care needs. 

"We are also hoping to work with representatives of the families affected to consider a range of options for support. The county will extend the commissioning of Nascot Lawn services, hopefully in partnership with HVCCG, past 31 October and with funds taken from contingencies, until such time as suitable alternative provision is secured for these families and their children.”