Dr. Morganasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies (1) whether he is aware that, in the St. Catherine Poor House, Spanish Town, Jamaica, now used as a hospital, there are only eight untrained nurses for 249 patients of all types, including cases of tuberculosis, yaws and expectant mothers; that the nurses' pay is 14s. per week; that the acting matron is the only trained nurse; that the institution consists of five widely-separated wards; and, as the two untrained night nurses cannot cope with the work or call for 1411W help in case of need, whether this state of affairs can be remedied at once;
(2) whether he has any information on the question of hospital accommodation in Jamaica; whether he is aware that because of overcrowding in the Government hospital at Spanish Town the overflow of sick patients for indoor treatment have to be transferred to the unsuitable St. Catherine Poor House, where deplorable conditions exist, insufficient poorly-paid nursing staff, lack of disinfectants, indifferent sanitation, poor accommodation and feeding arrangements for the nurses; and whether any alternative accommodation and increased staff will be secured without delay;
(3) whether he is aware that the nursing accommodation in St. Catherine Poor House, Spanish Town, Jamaica, is so bad that the rest room is next to the mortuary; that the only sanitation for the nursing staff is a pit latrine without lights; that the nurses have to take their meals in the kitchen with windows devoid of screens against flies; that there is no carbolic soap or lysol in the institution; and will he have the accommodation remedied;
(4) whether he is aware that in the St. Catherine Poor House, Spanish Town, Jamaica, there is only one cook for 249 patients requiring three meals per day, two laundresses for bedclothes and nightgowns, and only one person for the garden and mortuary work; and whether additional staff can be employed to ameliorate such conditions?
§ Colonel StanleyI have no information about conditions in St. Catherine Poor House which, as the hon. Member is no doubt aware, would normally be under the control of the local parochial board and not of the Government. I am, however, asking the Governor for a report on the matters mentioned in the hon. Member's Questions and I will communicate with him on receipt of the Governor's reply.