§ 2. Mr. R. McNEILLasked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether a large part of the work of nursing in the Royal Naval Hospital at Chatham is being done by male orderlies, members of the St. John Ambulance Corps, most of whom have no experience of attending to the sick and have no natural aptitude for the work; whether he is aware that there are numbers of women better qualified for such duties who are anxious to undertake any work for the nation; and whether he will take steps to replace the male orderlies at the hospital in question by women?
§ The PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY to the ADMIRALTY (Dr. Macnamara)The nursing at Chatham and in all our naval hospitals is performed partly by fully trained nursing sisters and active service sick berth staff, and partly by the auxiliary sick berth staff reserve who are members of the St. John Ambulance Corps. These orderlies, who perform only a subordinate part in the nursing, are quite well trained for the work. They form, in addition, a reserve under training for our nursing service afloat—a most important consideration.