A UNION has raised concerns about hospitals relying on nurses from outside the UK to keep the NHS running.

Colchester General Hospital has run major recruitment campaigns across the globe to fill a shortage.

The trust which runs the hospital recruited from Spain, but many soon left and has been putting Italian nurses up at a hotel to help them settle in.

However some in the health service claim there may be enough homegrown nurses.

Dr Keith McNeil, chief executive of the Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said it was “distracting, frustrating and expensive”

to have to recruit large numbers of nurses from oversees.

Karen Webb, director of the Royal College of Nursing Eastern Region, which covers Essex, added: “We could have enough home-grown nurses.

“We know last year across the UK there were 57,000 applicants for 20,000 nurse training posts.

“We have the people here who want to be nurses, but they are not being given the opportunity.

“The Government needs to look closely at our reliance on staff from Europe and elsewhere.

“This is particularly important as changes to immigration rules, which will take effect from 2017, will mean any nurse from outside the European Economic Area who is not earning more than £35,000 after six years will be made to leave.

“We must tackle this anomaly and make sure the number of training places is adequate to meet demands.”