Britain is turning to Nepal to staff the National Health Service (NHS) with the signing of a new immigration deal that could see thousands of former Gurkhas coming over to rescue the NHS.

The formal Memorandum of Understanding with the heroic Asian nation will allow its healthcare staff to move to the UK and work in hospitals amid a shortage of nurses and doctors.

An initial pilot project will begin immediately with Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and its partners but ministers are hoping to widen out the scheme across the nation.

The new healthcare accord is the first formal labour supply agreement signed between the countries since Britain recruited the Gurkhas warriors from the Himalayan foothills into the Army for 200 years.

The Nepalese healthcare workers will have the same rights as UK citizens working in the NHS.

Britain faces a shortage of 38,000 nurses, even if it hits the Government’s targets of hiring an additional 50,000 by the next election in 2024 campaigners have warned.