The NHS is calling on thousands of retired doctors, nurses and other staff to work if the swine flu pandemic gets worse.

Some employers are approaching staff who left up to three years ago while others have set a limit of one year.

Five primary care trusts asked by HSJ said they had started approaching former staff.

NHS East Sussex Downs and Weald and NHS Hastings and Rother said that together they had sent letters about helping to tackle the swine flu pandemic to 60 people who had retired in the past year, and received 10 agreements. North Somerset PCT has 23 agreements from nursing and administrative staff who retired within the past two years. Brent PCT has approached 55 retirees from the past three years and has had 15 agreements.

One trust, University Hospitals of Leicester, said it had identified around 90 clinicians, including nurses, doctors, physiotherapists and radiographers of up to two years’ retirement.

King’s College Hospital foundation trust said it was not approaching retired staff. Some employees were being trained to take on other roles. If necessary it would close elective services and transfer staff to urgent work.

It is uncertain how retirees would be retrained, quickly re-registered with their regulator or checked by the Criminal Records Bureau.

A spokeswoman for University Hospitals Leicester trust said: “They must have retained their professional registration and be willing to undergo employment checks.”

However, NHS East Sussex Downs and Weald and NHS Hastings and Rother said CRB checks were not needed.

A spokesman said: “If they are clinical and we want them to work clinically at an antiviral collection point then we must see their registration.”

The General Medical Council has said if asked by the government it could temporarily re-register retired doctors except those who were struck off. The Nursing and Midwifery Council said it had arrangements in place but would not give details.

Health employment lawyer Philip Farrar said employers should be sure staff were registered where necessary, fit and well enough to undertake the task. They would often require CRB checks, he warned.

The bureau said that the organisations must decide whether a check had to be made. It is planning for a “potential influx of cases”.

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