The Department of Health published a code of practice on recruiting foreign medical staff last year after reports that some agencies were exploiting nurses.

Under the code, recruiters will pledge to maintain the highest standards and not to advertise in countries where there is a shortage of medical staff.

It is incredible that almost eight months after the initial hype of the code of practice, the Department of Health has identified so few agencies

Paul Burstow MP

According to the Department of Health, 38 agencies will be assessed to see if they meet the criteria laid down in the code.

However, the Liberal Democrats have criticised the figure saying it shows the government has failed to address the problem.

There are no accurate figures on the number of agencies trying to recruit medical staff from overseas.

However, rough estimates suggest they could run into hundreds and that figure can only rise as more and more foreign nurses start to take up NHS posts.

Statistics published by regulators earlier this month showed more nurses from overseas are taking up jobs in the UK than ever before.

Criticism

But the Lib Dem health spokesman Paul Burstow also criticised the fact that the Department of Health had yet to assess any of the agencies that had expressed an interest in signing up to the code of practice.

He said: "It is incredible that almost eight months after the initial hype of the code of practice, the Department of Health has identified so few agencies.

"The fact that none of them has been assessed yet is another example of this government over-claiming and under-performing."

A spokeswoman for the Royal College of Nursing suggested the code of practice should become mandatory for agencies trying to recruit staff for the NHS.

She said: "While we welcome the Department of Health's code of practice we aware that its voluntary status in regard to recruitment agencies and the lack of monitoring of the code in general has meant it has had a limited impact."