Across Sussex, nurses recruited abroad play a vital role in helping NHS hospitals cope with a seemingly ever-increasing workload.

Without them, hospitals at best would have to resort to the much more expensive option of using agency staff.

At worst, a crippling shortage of nurses could put lives at risk.

There are more than 60 Filipino nurses working for Worthing and Southlands Hospitals NHS Trust.

They were employed by the trust, which was having problems recruiting UK staff, to help cope with an increasing demand from the thousands of patients who pass through the hospitals every year.

Fellow workers said the nurses had all fitted in well and were doing an excellent job in difficult circumstances.

English is not their first language so that is the first hurdle to overcome for many.

The other is to deal with the constant demands of an extremely high-pressured job where there is often little or no let-up.

Then came a letter from matron Rosemary Cranna, telling them they would be "sent home in disgrace" if rumours of a nurse shoplifting were substantiated.

When colleagues were shown the matron's letter, they complained and sent a letter of their own to Health Secretary Alan Milburn.

Roger Greene, chief executive of Worthing Hospitals, was also horrified and sent out a letter of his own, retracting what had been said.

He wrote: "Your contribution to patient care locally has already been remarkable and most valuable.

"I would not wish this incident to disturb an otherwise excellent and hopefully developing relationship."

Worthing is planning to recruit more staff from abroad to help fill the vacancies it still has among its more than 3,000 staff.

Hospitals are increasingly looking abroad for nurses because the pay, conditions and working hours in England make it difficult to recruit staff from the UK.

Hospitals in East Sussex and Brighton and Hove face continuing problems as many nurses opt to work in West Sussex where they are eligible for a bonus as the area is seen as expensive to live in.

Brighton and Hove's three MPs, Brighton Health Care and South Downs Health NHS trusts are all actively campaigning to have the system changed so all nurses get the bonus.

Without bringing in the nurses from abroad, hospitals, which are struggling daily to find cover for shifts, would have to rely even more on expensive agency staff instead.

We reported last month how Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath was forced to pay an agency more than £1,000 for one nurse to work a 12-hour, bank holiday shift.

Hospital bosses agree it is not an ideal solution to recruitment problems but they say it is the best they can manage at the moment.

In the meantime, their aim is to make staff from abroad feel as welcome as possible to encourage them to stay on, once their initial contract has ended.

During the past two years, Brighton Health Care NHS Trust has recruited more than 100 nurses from the Philippines and 25 from South Africa.

The nurses had to go through a three-month induction course to adapt their qualifications to the UK nursing requirements.

The trust also appointed the wife of a member of staff, who is a Filipino, to help the new workers when they arrive in Brighton.

A spokesman said: "It is not just a matter of them coming over and being thrown into the job. There is also an effort to show them around the city and help them settle in.

"They are helping us out by coming over here and it's important to make sure they are made to feel welcome so they want to stay on.

"We've had some staff who have had their work permits extended so they were able to continue to work here, which is a good sign."

A spokesman for Unison in West Sussex said: "Hospitals are struggling to find enough nurses to provide the cover needed. Things are only going to get worse unless something is done.

"The money paid to nurses at the moment is ludicrous for the type of work they do.

"Many find themselves working long hours and at full stretch because there are staff shortages. That often means they can't give patients as much time as they would like.

"It's a vicious circle. Unless you increase the pay, you are not going to attract more nurses and if you can't do that then those already working will leave.

"Bringing in staff from abroad may help to a certain extent but it won't provide the long-term answer."