The government has succeeded in meeting its pledge of having 20,000 more nurses and midwives in the NHS by 2004, according to the latest figures.

The total number of qualified nurses working in the NHS rose by 4.3 per cent last year - the biggest increase in qualified nurses on record - going up by 14,400 to 350,400.

Forum Response: Royal College of Nursing

Dr Beverly Malone, general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, told ePolitix.com: "It is very positive that the NHS Plan targets for nurses recruitment have been met. However, shortages still exist. The challenge now must be to retain existing nurses and to sustain this growth in the context of an ageing nursing workforce.

"In the long term we have to reduce our current dependence on internationally recruited nurses. Nurse numbers are only part of the story. Nurses are working harder than ever to maintain high quality patient care in difficult circumstances. In order to retain our nurses we must value them through improvements to both working lives, career development and in their pay."