By Leeza Clark

THE DOORS reopened yesterday at the west Fife nursery at the centre of an E. coli outbreak.

The independently run Careshare nursery in the grounds of Lauder College has been closed for the last month.

In the outbreak five children were treated for kidney failure in the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Glasgow while nine other people were confirmed as having the virulent E. coli bug.

All the cases were linked to the nursery, which has since been given a clean bill of health.

A spokesman for the nursery, Graham Robb, refused to say how many parents had dropped their children off on the first day, but said the company had seen great support from the majority of clients.

“It is very difficult to say how many children are there because it is not like a school, and different children come in at different times and on different days.

“Our staff are not focusing on the numbers, or how many may be boycotting us,” he said, although he added some children had been transferred to other Careshare nurseries and parents may not want to disrupt them again by returning them to the centre on the Lauder campus.

He said the nursery had staged an open day last week when around three quarters of parents turned up. “They were very pleased with our proactive approach and feel we communicated very well and our website was very well received,” he said.

During the closure the nursery underwent a thorough cleaning and video of its progress was posted on the website along with NHS Fife statements.

“Now the policy we introduced on E. coli is the toughest in Scotland,” added Mr Robb.

Careshare managing director Jonathan Bell added, “Parents and children can be confident everything possible has been done to eradicate E. coli from the nursery. We have employed the UK’s top specialist cleaning company, ER Environmental, which has fumigated the nursery, cleaned every surface many times and removed and destroyed items ranging from toys to potted plants.

“Furthermore, our staff have all been given refresher training in hygiene control. Most importantly, Careshare has introduced the toughest policy to prevent E. coli spread of any educational organisation in Scotland.

Mr Bell added, “Our previous policy was to follow official advice on the timing of any nursery closure.

“In relation to E. coli, which is a particular problem for Scotland, we have decided that any E. coli case suspected by the authorities will result in the temporary closure of any Careshare nursery until the matter has been fully investigated.

“We are confident parents will welcome this policy and believe it is more robust than awaiting advice that may differ from area to area,” he added.

Though the source of the E. coli outbreak has never been identified, experts believe it was brought into the nursery by a child or adult and others were subsequently infected via contact.

Health Protection Scotland, which examined the outbreak, said it was caused by an E. coli strain that made it harder to identify.

Mr Bell added his best wishes for everyone affected. “I would like to say our thoughts are with the families of the children who were unwell. We wish them a continued recovery. I would like to thank the parents of all our children who have been so supportive during this difficult period.”