§ MR. PATRICK O'BRIEN (Kilkenny)To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether he will give the names of the institutions in Ireland considered competent by the Local Government Board to give certificates for trained nurses within the meaning of the first portion of the Nursing Order; the names of the institutions in Ireland considered competent to give certificates for qualified nurses within the meaning of the second portion of said Order; and the position of nurses (who have been in the service of boards of guardians previous to the said Orders and whose service had been satisfactory) as to promotion to other offices, increase in salaries, or appointment to posts in other unions.
(Answered by Mr. Wyndham.) There is no official record kept of institutions fulfilling the requirements of Articles 2 (a) and 2 (b) of the Order in question. The claims of a particular hospital or institution are only considered as the necessity arises in connection with the registration of a nurse or upon the application of the authorities of the hospital. Hence there May be and doubtless are hospitals which would be held by the Board to be competent to Certify nurses as trained or qualified should the occasion for making inquiry arise. Nurses whose employment in union hospitals had been sanctioned by the Board prior to the issue of the Order have not been disturbed in office; their rights have been carefully preserved to them. In no case has promotion or increase of salary been refused to any such nurse on the ground that she did not possess the qualifications prescribed by the Order.