§ Colonel Stoddart-Scottasked the Minister of Health the number of State registered nurses who were actively employed nursing in June, 1939, and the number employed in June, 1945, or nearest convenient date.
§ Mr. BevanThe nearest dates to those stated in the Question for which I have comparative figures are December, 1938, and May, 1945. These show that in civilian hospitals in England and Wales, excluding maternity and mental hospitals, the number of trained nurses employed had increased from about 25,000 to about 27,000 between the two dates. The number of beds to which the figures relate had, however, increased in greater proportion, from 270,000 to 333,000.