§ 46. Mr. Frank Taylorasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the number of hospital beds unoccupied owing to lack of nursing staff in the London area and in England as a whole, respectively; and what steps are currently being taken to recruit sufficient nurses to overcome this problem.
§ Sir K. JosephHospital beds may remain unoccupied for a wide variety of reasons and it is not possible to identify those that may be unoccupied owing to lack of nursing staff. Recruitment of nursing staff is a matter for individual hospital authorities who undertake a wide variety of recruitment activities.
§ Mr. William Hamiltonasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what steps he is taking to increase the recruitment of nurses, in view of the offers currently being made to trained nurses by representatives of hospitals in the United States of America.
§ Mr. AlisonRecruitment is primarily a matter for hospital and local health authorities and we are continuing to give them general support.