Clearly people do feel that working for the NHS is a worthwhile proposition

Department of Health spokesman

So far, the Department of Health's inquiry unit has received 68 calls from people claiming to be consultants in other countries, and approximately double this number of email enquiries.

A spokesman told Reuters: "It's extremely encouraging. Clearly people do feel that working for the NHS is a worthwhile proposition."

The government's drive to recruit more doctors is crucial to the success of its "NHS Plan" announced two years ago.

Overseas aid

It will not reach its targets of thousands of extra specialists by 2004 without some overseas doctors, as moves to increase the capacity of medical schools in the UK will not bear fruit for some years.

In all, 7,500 extra consultants have been promised by 2004.

The British Medical Association (BMA) has been among those which doubted whether doctors from abroad would find working in the NHS an attractive prospect.

Dr George Rae, of the BMA's GP's Committee, said: "Many of our European colleagues find the pace at which we work quite mind-boggling."

The NHS already recruits nurses from overseas because of local shortages, with an estimated 30,000 working in hospitals across the country.

The Department of Health said that British embassies had also been receiving enquiries, particularly those in Europe and Japan.

The increase in foreign NHS workers is not restricted to doctors - there has been a large surge in the number of foreign nurses applying to work in the UK.