It has also advised its members to refuse responsibility for care given by visiting surgical teams if they are unable to establish their credentials.

Professor Sir Peter Morris, president of the college, said the idea was a "short-term fix" that could compromise standards, and introduce "third world medicine" to the UK.

His comments come a week before the first overseas clinical teams are due to arrive.

How do we assess the quality of the visiting surgical units and their staff?

Professor Sir Peter Morris

Sir Peter said the money spent on recruiting foreign staff should instead be spent on boosting infrastructure and increasing the number of trainee surgeons in Britain.

The college is concerned about the qualifications of overseas doctors, and their ability to communicate effectively with patients.

It said this could be a particular problem when it came to getting informed consent.

Sir Peter said: "How do we assess the quality of the visiting surgical units and their staff?

"This is a costly exercise and it's taking money away from correcting the defects of the NHS.

"This is a short-term fix and I am concerned that this initiative might threaten standards."

Stopped operation

David Nunn, a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at Guy's and St Thomas's Hospital in London, was reported earlier this week to have stopped an operation half-way through because foreign nurses could not follow his instructions.

It will be important that local doctors work constructively and collaboratively with them in the best interests of the patients they serve

Department of Health

Health Secretary Alan Milburn announced in May that surgeons from overseas would be brought into the NHS to help increase capacity and cut waiting times.

Heart Surgeon Sir Magdi Yacoub has already spent time trying to recruit surgeons in America.

Under the scheme, surgeons would bring their own nurses with them and would probably come from EU countries rather than other parts of the world, because their qualifications would be more readily recognised in Britain.

Twenty areas around the country would see the introduction of surgical teams working in areas like hip replacement and cataract surgery, at the weekends, and at the end of the day when the hospitals were quieter.

A spokesman for the Department of Health said: "Local clinicians will not be able to veto work by their local health care commissioners to offer patients faster access to high quality, good value care such as that which can be offered by overseas clinical teams.

"It will be important that, where overseas clinical teams are used in NHS facilities, local doctors work constructively and collaboratively with them in the best interests of the patients they serve."