DOZENS of nurses are being brought over from the Philippines to help ease staff shortages at Maidstone Hospital and the Kent and Sussex Hospital at Tunbridge Wells.

Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust hope to employ between 40 and 50 fully qualified nurses from the islands in the East Pacific.

Recruitment specialists from the trust are due to fly out to the Philippines later this month to interview a shortlist of candidates.

The trust has linked up with an overseas employment agency and should have the pick of the islands' nurses who want to work abroad.

The nurses will be based either at Maidstone Hospital or Tunbridge Wells. They are expected to take up their new posts in January or February next year.

Trust spokeswoman Colette Glasson said: "The Philippines has a surplus of nurses and we definitely think we can get at least 40 or 50.

"The additional nurses will obviously be a great help during the winter period which is traditionally one of our busiest times of the year.

"Although they won't fill all of our vacancies they will definitely help ease staffing shortages at both hospitals."

The trust is trying to reduce its reliance on UK-based staffing agencies to fill vacancies. Nurses who work for agencies command higher salaries and are costing the trust dear.

Mrs Gasson added: "We are trying to move away from agency working because we have to pay them over and above what we pay members of our own staff.

"We felt it would be better to employ our own staff and know that the quality of nurses in the Philippines is such that they are good nurses and their English is good."

The overseas nurses will be found accommodation within the trust's own staff housing for the first six months and then encouraged to make their own arrangements.