London hospitals are working together to cut the amount they spend on hiring agency nurses.

In a separate development, the Department of Health and the Ministry of Defence are in talks about using army barracks to provide affordable housing for nurses.

Under the agency nurse pilot scheme, a shortlist of temporary nurses agencies will be drawn up who meet strict new criteria on cost and quality of care.

It is hoped the government scheme will reduce the �130m a year London NHS trusts currently spend on agency nurses.

Agency nurses cost around �15 more per hour than NHS staff.

We've never really had such a consistent approach

Lyn Hinton, Whipps Cross University Hospital

But hospitals in London, finding it difficult to recruit permanent nurses, have to rely on temporary agency nurses to staff wards

Lyn Hinton is a manager at Whipps Cross University Hospital, one of the 76 trusts in London backing the scheme.

"We've never really had such a consistent approach across the whole of London before, so that has to benefit patient care."

Sarah Valentine of the Department of Health said: "Cost has always been a problem in the agency field.

"The commission rates with agencies have varied from 9% to 17%.

Low standards

Jason Warriner, a nurse on the HIV ward at Ealing Hospital, has worked for a range of nursing agencies.

Jason Warriner says some agencies are just looking to make a 'fast buck'

He believes some agencies are simply out to make a "fast book" and do not run proper checks on the nurses they employ.

"For the agencies I worked for, I know they followed up references.

"But I know some agencies where they just seem more interested in recruiting staff and meeting the contracts they've got with organisations.

"And in some instances some of the nurses I've worked with, the standards haven't been as high as they should be."

But he said agencies are the only people paying nurses properly for their skills.

Barracks

It is hoped the plan to turn army barracks in and around London into accommodation for nurses will help address the problems public sector workers have finding accommodation in the capital.

They are often unable to afford to live, and therefore work, in London because property is too expensive.

Negotiations over the plan are still at an early stage.

A Department of Health spokeswoman said: "We are in discussion with the Ministry of Defence along with other providers to maximise the amount of accommodation available for nurses.

"Our vision is to provide affordable and appropriate accommodation that offers choice for the individual."

Tom Sandford, the Royal College of Nursing's regional director for London, said: "It is a proposal we welcome as far as it goes."

"It would provide accommodation for single nurses who might not otherwise think of coming to London because of the problems accessing accommodation."

But he said it would not suit older nurses or those with families, or replace the need for long-term accommodation for nurses.