NEARLY two-thirds of nurses and healthcare workers are having to choose between food and fuel to combat rising energy bills, a shocking survey published today reveals.

And 14 per cent of the 1,000 NHS staff who responded have started using foodbanks, while 30 per cent said they know colleagues who have been forced to use them amid plummeting take-home pay and spiralling inflation.

The study, conducted by online firm Florence, which uses technology to help tackle the shortage of healthcare staff globally, comes after the Royal College of Nursing announced its first ever national strike following more than a decade of Tory austerity.