This letter is an appeal to those who think that agency nurses earn an obscene amount of money.

I have been an agency nurse since March this year when I left Hereford County Hospital.

Since that time, I have worked all over the place, driving many miles to wherever my place of work might be for that day.

Please bear in mind that some agencies do not cover travel expenses; no sick leave is available for agency staff; no pension scheme; and most work is generally last minute, with NO work ever guaranteed.

An agency nurse basically goes from day to day, waiting for the phone to ring to inform one of a shift, and there are many times the phone does not ring for days.

I was told the other day - for the umpteenth time - that I must earn a lot of money, being an agency nurse - and this really made my blood boil.

All I am trying to do is earn a living to support my family, and I am not greedy. I would just like to earn £20,000 a year (I have three kids at school, and a husband who is a student nurse - with no income).

Why is it that people are quite prepared to pay for a plumber when there is a problem, and they don't quibble about how much plumbers charge. If a telephone engineer calls at your home because there is a problem, the minimum call out fee is £50 an hour.

Qualified piano teachers do not teach for nothing other than their love of music - I am a trained nurse and midwife, with 27 years experience, and I am expected to do the work of two nurses for a pittance!

More publicity should be made of the fact that hospitals are understaffed, and until salaries are rectified, as well as conditions of service, staff will not be enticed back to the NHS.

At present, there are no trained staff posts available at Hereford County Hospital as there is no money to pay them; but the ex CEO was on a salary band of roughly £95,000 per annum, while the ex-director of Nursing was earning above £55, 000. (I got these figures from the Trust Annual Report.)

Please, all of you who criticise agency nurses, get it into perspective.

Paula Hawley,

Tower Road, Broomy Hill,

Hereford.