HL Deb 24 June 1953 vol 182 c1194

2.38 p.m.

LORD HADEN-GUEST

My Lords, on behalf of my noble friend Lord Crook, I beg to ask the Question which stands in his name on the Order Paper.

[The Question was as follows:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they are aware of the number of nurses who have left their employment consequent upon allergic reaction to penicillin, and if so, what is the number.]

THE EARL OF ONSLOW

My Lords, the number of nurses who have left their employment as a result of allergic reaction to penicillin is not known, but a recent sample investigation showed that in seventy local health authority areas, seventy-three nurses Lad developed sensitivity to penicillin, and that in seventy-six hospitals seven nurses had been similarly affected. Larger numbers (eighty-six in the local health authority areas and 102 in the hospitals) had been similarly affected by streptomycin. The Minister of Health's Standing Medical Advisory Committee has now advised the Minister on the precautions which should be taken by nurses and others when giving injections of antibiotics, and this advice is being issued by the Minister to local health authorities and others concerned as a matter of urgency.