§ 72. Mr. D. Jonesasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he is aware of the shortage of nursing staffs in the hospitals in Jamaica and, further, that private hospitals in the United States of America are offering, through United States official agencies, first preference immigration status and substantially improved wages and conditions of service to Jamaican nurses who accept posts in that country; and what steps he proposes to take to improve the pay and status of nurses in all the British West Indies.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydI do not know of any special immigration status granted to132W Jamaican nurses as such in the United States, but it is true that some Jamaican nurses have gone there during the past year. The pay and status of nurses in British West Indian Territories is a matter for the Governments of those Territories. The Jamaica Government has recently raised the pay of its nurses and it is hoped that this will help to relieve the shortage which certainly exists.