An increasing number of jobless nurses are being forced to seek charity handouts, it has emerged.

One in seven applicants seeking charitable donations from a welfare charity are now nurses and midwives, according to a report in today's edition of trade journal the Nursing Standard.

The Royal College of Nursing, meanwhile, reports a leap in calls from nurses struggling to make ends meet as a jobs freeze caused by the NHS financial crisis makes it harder to find another job.

The Elizabeth Finn Care welfare charity said many of the nurses asking for financial help have faced difficulties after not finding work, while others are struggling financially after being forced to give up work through injury or physical or mental illness, such as depression.

The charity, which offers a range of financial support from single donations for one-off essential items, such as a replacement fridge, to longer-term allowances, fears many more nurses in the same situation were reluctant to come forward.

"Understandably people are often too embarrassed to ask," a spokeswoman for the charity told the magazine. "It is important for us to raise awareness of the services we provide, so people know there is someone they can turn to."

RCN welfare adviser Claire Cannings said that in the past nine months the college's helpline, Nurseline, had seen a 20% rise in calls from nurses struggling to make ends meet.

"If nurses lose their job, it takes them longer to find another job as there are not as many around," Ms Cannings told the journal.