§ 34. Mr. G. Straussasked the Minister of Health, in view of the shortage of trained nurses, what is the policy of the Government in calling up for service those who have registered their names, at the outbreak of war, on the Civil Nursing Reserve?
§ Mr. E. BrownI am anxious to utilise the services of any trained nurse member of the Civil Nursing Reserve not already in employment, and, partly with this in view, I have recently extended the scope of the Reserve to cover almost every type of hospital, including certain special hospitals where the shortage of nurses is acute. Where a trained nurse has offered whole-time service without reservation as to place, regional nursing officers can ordinarily post her without difficulty. This cannot always be arranged, however, where the member's offer is restricted either to part-time service or to service in a particular locality, or in some other way. Such members are now being approached and asked to offer service not subject to these limitations, and the use to be made of their services will depend on the replies.