MANY more Filipino nurses are waiting for the chance to work in the NHS, according to those who have made their homes in the North-East.

The nurses say there are many more willing to make the long journey from South-East Asia to the UK.

Bosses at the University Hospital of North Durham said they were delighted with the performance of 47 Filipinos recruited six months ago.

Thanks to their efforts, the hospital's nursing workforce is up to full strength.

Elsewhere, more than 50 Filipino nurses recently joined North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Trust.

Enrique Mosquera, 31, who works in the Durham hospital's busy accident and emergency department, said: "There are many nurses back home who would like to come to England. I have friends who would like to get here."

He shrugs off criticism of the Government's recruitment policy, pointing out that there are far more nurses than jobs back home.

His colleague, Pilar Catalan, who works on a stroke ward, has left her two young children with her parents.

She said: "It is hard for me. I give my children a call every weekend, but it is quite expensive."

For most of the Filipino nurses at Durham, the motive for coming to England was a mixture of higher wages and a chance to broaden their professional horizons.

Both nurses said their English colleagues had been very helpful, but they were still getting used to some patients' accents, despite coaching.

"I sometimes find it difficult to understand patients, especially the Geordies," said Nurse Catalan.

"They tell jokes I can't understand and then I get embarrassed."

The North-East winter has been an unpleasant shock for the Filipinos, who live in a hot, humid country.

"I felt like crying when I was waiting for the bus in the snow," said Nurse Catalan.

Cultural differences have also surprised the Filipinos, who wonder why hardly anybody goes to church and find our attitude to old people troubling.

"Sometimes I cry when somebody is leaving the hospital," she said. "Some of them don't know where they are going. In the Philippines we look after our parents when they are old."

David McKie, professional nurse development leader with the Durham trust, said: "They have been absolutely brilliant. The patients adore them.

"If we get the chance to employ more Filipinos I would certainly recommend it."