THE trust that runs Basingstoke hospital has warned that immigration rules could leave it short of experienced nurses this winter.

The Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (HHFT), which runs hospitals in Basingstoke, Andover and Winchester, is one of ten trusts to write to home secretary Theresa May, arguing that operations might be cancelled unless nursing is listed as an occupation with official staff shortages.

NHS employers, who joined the trust in writing the letter, said “large numbers” of applications for certificates of sponsorship have been rejected recently.

These include some made by HHFT for registered nurses from the Philippines.

Donna Green, the trust’s chief nurse and deputy chief executive, told The Gazette 98 registered nurses from the South East Asian country were offered jobs following a recruitment trip at the beginning of this year.

But she said applications for certificates of sponsorship were rejected in both July and August.

She said: “At the moment there’s a lot of discussion about restricting the use of agency nurses and what we are saying is we can do that if we are allowed to recruit our Filipino nurses.

“That is not at the expense of British nurses – we want to support them and recruit them – but there is a shortage of experienced nurses.”

Mrs Green said the last recruitment of Filipino nurses at Basingstoke, which took place 15 years ago, was a success, with many still working at the hospital.

She said the trust had looked at employing registered nurses from countries in the European Union, but said the trust’s experience is that they do not stay in Basingstoke for long, and prefer to work in cities such as London.

Danny Mortimer, chief executive of NHS Employers, said: “Whilst we are experiencing a mismatch between supply and demand we are asking that this is recognised and that nursing be placed on the shortage occupation list for the next two years.”

The home office said some available places remained unused.

A spokesman added: “We will continue to monitor Tier 2 take-up, but have no plans to change the annual limit.”