CROSSGATES Ebola nurse Pauline Cafferkey has not been given a £4,000 bonus many of her colleagues have received, Parliament has heard.

The medical worker, who grew up in the village, nearly died after contracting the virus while treating patients in Sierra Leone and was described by Prime Minister David Cameron as "one of the bravest people" he had ever met.

Mr Cameron pledged to look into the issue after it was raised in Prime Minister's Questions by Ms Cafferkey's MP Margaret Ferrier, who represents the Rutherglen and Hamilton West constituency in which she now lives.

Responding to the issue, Mr Cameron said: "I'm very pleased you have raised this issue.

"Pauline Cafferkey is one of the bravest people I have ever met and it was a great privilege to have her come to Number 10 Downing Street.

"And also I am proud of the fact that she, and many others I believe, have received the medal for working in Sierra Leone, which is something Britain should be incredibly proud of. We took the decision to help partner with that country, to deal with Ebola, and it is now Ebola free.

"I'll look specifically into the issue of the bonus; I wasn't aware of that issue and I will get back to her about it."

His remarks came after the SNP's Ms Ferrier said NHS volunteers had missed out on the payments given to Public Health England staff.

She said: "The Prime Minister will no doubt be aware of my constituent Pauline Cafferkey, a nurse who contracted Ebola in Sierra Leone in 2014 when she was there as part of the DFID organised response to the outbreak.

"She and around 200 NHS volunteers through UK Med have not received an equivalent bonus of £4,000 that was awarded to 250 Public Health England staff.

"Will the Prime Minster agree to meet with me to discuss how DFID can rectify this situation?"

Ms Cafferkey was infected while working with the sick in Sierra Leone in December 2014, at the height of the Ebola crisis.

She spent almost a month in an isolation unit at London's Royal Free Hospital and was released after making a recovery, but fell ill again in October last year and was this time treated for meningitis caused by Ebola.

She was flown from Glasgow to the Royal Free once more in February and treated for a complication related to her previous infection.

Ms Cafferkey, 40, told ITV news in May that she feared she might "die a horrible death" after contracting the virus and said that she had no idea how she caught it.

She said: ""I was obviously very shocked, I just knew that I had to stay strong and I just had to try and keep it together.

"I was just thinking I could die a horrible death within the next few days."

She added: "I have been negative of Ebola for seven months now and don't believe I will have another relapse.

"Looking to the future I'm not sure what it will hold. I'm positive it will be full of good things as it can't get any worse than what I have gone through and I'm sure the memories will fade with time."