NURSES drafted in from overseas to ease a staffing headache at Princess Margaret Hospital were last night celebrating after passing their probationary period.

All 51 staff who were recruited from as far afield as the Phillipines, Sudan, Romania and Pakistan, have successfully passed their period of supervised practice.

And to mark the occasion, deputy director of nursing Franchesca Thompson and practice co-ordinator Nichola Mayo handed out certificates to each of them.

They will all now be able to register with the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

Mrs Thompson said: "Overseas nurses bring to us a richness and diversity which we can all benefit from.

"They have all done well to cope with the challenges of working in a different country.

"Coming here to work in the NHS, which is struggling at the moment, is a brave thing for them to do and we thank them for it."

In the most recent recruitment trip, in March, PMH staff travelled to Manila in the Philippines where they signed up 20 new theatre nurses.

Swindon and Marlborough NHS has previously made trips to Australia, the United Arab Emirates and Singapore to recruit more than 100 nurses.

The number of nurses from abroad who are now working in this country has soared with an estimated 50,000 of the 330,000 NHS nurses having been recruited from foreign countries.

One of the nurses Olaf Bautista, 42, from the Philippines said: "I really like it here in Swindon. The weather is similar to where I live back at home, because I come from Baguio City which is up in the mountains where it is cool and green. "Everything is great here except for one thing, the public transport system. That is the only thing I would change.

"Everyone is so friendly and the staff here are really kind." Olaf will work in the Trauma and Orthopaedic Ward.

Also picking up her certificate was 28-year-old Wafaa Elkhidir from Sudan who will be working in the Intensive Care Unit.

She said: "I was unsure what to expect when I came here. I was led to believe that people in England were not too friendly, but I have been made very welcome. Everyone from the patients to the staff have been very kind.

"As a Muslim, the only difficulty is that I am now in a minority here and that takes getting used to."

Razin Jusdus Thayagaran, 37, from India is also due to work in ICU. He said: "Swindon is very nice. Everyone here is very friendly. Before I came here I suppose I had some prejudiced views.

"I thought that patients would not accept me because I was of Indian origin, but that is not the case and I have been made most welcome."