Foreign nurses should be given career plans to encourage them to stay

A quarter of the capital's nurses are from abroad and experts warn the NHS could "collapse" without them.

The joint King's Fund and Royal College of Nursing survey called for overseas nurses to get career plans and for more effort to be put into keeping UK staff.

But the government said more nurses were in training than ever before.

Of the 380 nurses from more than 30 countries surveyed in London's private and NHS hospitals and nursing homes, the US was one of the most popular potential destinations.

Two thirds of Filipino nurses working in London - one of the largest overseas staff groups - said they were considering heading there.

'Exploited'

Many of the nurses also said they felt underpaid and exploited.

But researchers warned it would not just be London that would be affected by a mass exodus as about four-fifths of the 60,000 foreign nurses which have registered in the UK over the last four years work outside the capital.

Lead researcher Professor James Buchan said: "The NHS and independent health care sectors rely heavily on overseas nurses to deliver health care - without them, parts of the health service would collapse.

We've got to find a better way of treating this vital group of workers if their experience in the UK is to be a positive one both for them and for our health system Niall Dickson, of the King's Fund

"They perform a crucial and valuable role, but our survey shows the NHS is playing a high risk game by relying on these overseas staff to commit long-term to the NHS."

Many of the NHS nurses questioned said they had come to work in the UK via the "back-door" by working for the private sector before transferring to the health service.

Beverly Malone, general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, said this was further evidence the government's code of practice on ethical recruitment - which the private sector signs up to voluntarily - needed tightening up.

"With many nurses reporting that a recruitment agency has been involved in their move to the UK, it is imperative the government takes urgent steps to extend the code," she said.

And King's Fund chief executive Niall Dickson said: "We've got to find a better way of treating this vital group of workers if their experience in the UK is to be a positive one both for them and for our health system."

But a Department of Health spokesman said efforts were being made to address the problems.

"We are training more nurses in England than ever before, but we recognise the valuable contribution that overseas nurses make to the NHS, and are pleased that such a large proportion of this typically very mobile workforce are intending to stay."