§ 47. Mr. Osborneasked the Minister of Labour if he is aware that his East-Midlands appointments officer stated officially that Lincolnshire is in a worse position for nurses than any other county in the country; that a number of wards in various hospitals are closed for lack of nurses; and what new or emergency steps he proposes to take to remedy the situation.
§ The Minister of Labour (Mr. Isaacs)Yes, Sir, and he went on to stress the urgent need of each locality responding to the call for more nursing staffs. Apart from the general measures taken by means of national publicity and otherwise to encourage recruitment to the nursing profession, the more urgent vacancies in the Lincolnshire hospitals have, as a special measure, been circulated throughout the country. In addition, the institution of organised schemes for the use of part-time nurses and the establishment of more assistant nurse training schools are being actively pursued.
§ Mr. OsborneIn view of the scores of thousands of women who are engaged in the football pools industry, will the Minister look into this source of supply of female labour to see whether some of it cannot be directed into hospital work?
§ Mr. IsaacsUntil I again have powers of direction, it would be useless to try to do that.
Mr. BaldwinIs the Minister aware that the best way to get nurses is to pay them a wage comparable with that of other workers?