Essex hospitals turn to Spain for new nurses 10 August 2013 Last updated at 12:50 Two hospitals in Essex are turning to Spain in a bid to fill shortages in nursing posts. Colchester General and Essex County Hospitals are already in the process of introducing 68 new nurses from Madrid, but need more to satisfy demand. A second recruitment campaign will take place this month. Despite recruiting newly-registered nurses locally, hospital bosses say they need more qualified staff and so need to look abroad. Acting director of nursing at Colchester General, Kathy French, said it was a question of "supply and demand." 'Surfeit' of nurses A spokesman for Colchester Hospital University NHS Trust said: "Every year we do a review of our nursing numbers. Nurses from abroad have made a very valuable contribution to NHS patient care End Quote Department of Health spokesman These days we have more sick patients who need more intensive nursing and we haven't got enough qualified nurses. There is a surfeit of fully-qualified nurses in Spain. The first 68 nurses were recruited in June, with further 50 to be recruited to work on wards in the two hospitals. The spokesman said they continued to employ nurses who had just qualified from Anglia Ruskin and Essex Universities. The Department of Health said that it was up to individual trusts to recruit appropriate levels of staff. "If they cannot recruit enough staff locally, they may opt to seek nurses from further afield," a spokesman said. Nurses from abroad have made a very valuable contribution to NHS patient care. However, they should only work in the NHS if they have proven their competence and language skills.