Bradford is drafting in nurses from the Far East to cope with a staffing crisis at its hospitals.

There are 30 to 40 nursing vacancies in the city - and in desperation the Bradford Hospitals NHS Trust has gone abroad to fill the posts.

And this year 65 nurses from the Philippines will be joining staff at the Bradford Royal Infirmary and St Lukes Hospital.

Chief nurse Rose Stephens said the trust had no choice but to look abroad.

"There comes a time when you have to make a decision and try to fill the vacancies. We were getting desperate and after trying to recruit locally and nationally, we went abroad," she said.

"We have between 30 and 40 vacancies at any given time - well below the national average."

The Filipino nurses will be coming to Bradford in two stages; 26 in May and 39 in July.

They will be on two-year contracts and, as well as filling present vacancies, will ease future demand when the new £5 million Bradford Royal Infirmary accident and emergency department opens in the Autumn.

"Bradford has found it difficult to recruit in certain specialised areas, such as operating theatres, intensive care and our soon-to-expand accident and emergency unit," said Mrs Stephens.

"It's not just a Bradford problem, it's a national problem."

The trust has been trying to recruit staff from the district and nationally without much success.

"This has included the Return to Nursing Scheme to attract those who have left the profession to come back. But in the last 12 months just five have come back - three midwives and two general nurses," she said.

Chancellor Gordon Brown's budget included the funding of 10,000 nurses over the next two years and a cash injection of £2 billion for the NHS in April.

John Ryan, chairman of the trust's board, said: "Obviously this is good news but it will take years to take effect and years before we see these new nurses coming in through the system."

Between 1992 and 1995 the number of people undertaking nurse training dropped by 28 per cent nationally.

"It's this fall that is affecting hospitals throughout the country now," added Mr Ryan.

The trust approached nurses in the Philippines through an international recruiting agency. The nurses were working in large hospitals in Singapore and have expertise in areas needed by Bradford hospitals.

A trust spokesman said going abroad had proved to be a cost-effective method of recruiting enough nurses with the necessary expertise.

Mrs Stephens said: "In the Philippines around 7,000 nurses are being recruited each year and they have sufficient capacity to be able to send nurses overseas. A similar situation exists in Singapore.

"They're highly qualified professionals of graduate level and speak fluent English.

"We look forward to their arrival to a city rich in cultural diversity and to their making a valuable contribution to patient care for the community."

Four years ago 35 Finnish nurses came to Bradford on two-year contracts.

Of those, three have stayed on and one of them married another member of hospital staff.

Sandra Bullock, assistant officer for the Royal College of Nursing in Leeds, said hospitals throughout the UK were looking abroad to solve their recruitment crises.

"But we're confident that the situation is improving," she said.

"The government is beginning to value its nurses again and hopefully this will attract more people to the profession.

"We welcome our colleagues from overseas to help us with our crisis and we hope they receive a warm welcome from Bradford."

The new recruits will be given a comprehensive course to help them settle in at the hospitals before they start work on the wards.

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