§ Mr. Wootton-Daviesasked the Minister of Health (1) whether, in view of suggestions that girls should be compelled to take up sanatorium nursing and of the effort now being made to increase the number of nurses in such sanatoria, he will investigate existing cases where nurses have contracted tuberculosis in the discharge of their duties and are now maintained either by public funds or on 2279W a sum which does not permit of adequate and proper care;
(2) what steps are taken by his Department to ensure the rehabilitation of nurses who contract tuberculosis when nursing tuberculous patients; and whether he is satisfied that sufficient financial provision is made for such a nurse to ensure adequate food and clothing and a room apart from the rest of the inmates of the house where she may be more or less segregated?
§ Mr. E. BrownI would in the first place call attention to the statement in the recent report of the Medical Research Council that evidence from research in other countries and expert opinion in our own suggest that the risk of contracting tuberculosis from nursing tuberculosis patients in sanatoria is no greater than that involved in general hospital nursing. A nurse in a tuberculosis institution who contracts the disease is customarily given every care and attention appropriate to her condition by the institution. Arrangements for care and after-care, directed to restoring working capacity, are an essential part of the tuberculosis service and apply to nurses as much as to any other person who has suffered from tuberculosis. I shall be glad to consider any particular cases that my hon. Friend wishes to bring to my notice.