Better pay and more staff are desperately needed to improve the morale of nurses in Sussex, a union leader warned today.

Peter Atkinson, secretary for the West Sussex primary care and mental health branch of Unison, said many nurses were reaching the end of their tether because of stressful working conditions.

A recent survey carried out by the Nursing Times revealed 60 per cent of nurses often thought about leaving the profession.

More than 75 per cent of those questioned said they would not encourage their child to go into nursing.

Mr Atkinson said: "We keep on hearing about more reforms but nurses have been through a huge number of reforms in the past few years and things are still not right.

"We need a recognition of the constant pressures faced by nurses. This should be reflected by better pay levels."

Unions say if the pay was better more nurses would stay in the profession and more recruits might come forward.

Pressures on nurses is expected to be one of the main topics under discussion at the Unison health conference in Brighton this month.

House prices and rents in Brighton and Hove and other parts of Sussex are among the highest in the South-East, driving many lower-paid workers away from the area.

Hospitals and community care trusts have brought in numerous incentives to encourage nurses to work in Sussex.

These include providing more flexible hours, setting up a golden hello scheme and recruiting more staff from abroad.

A Government bonus scheme for nurses, which was originally only introduced in West Sussex, has been extended to the rest of the county after extensive campaigning.