I’ve already reported on the startling fact that NHS Scotland has 50% more nurses per head of population than NHS England:
Looking at the UK National Audit Office report which prompted the media outcry, we can see one simple and critical reason in the actions of the Scottish Government.
At the top of page 16 of the report:
It is not straightforward to monitor nursing shortages centrally. NHS providers
must follow safer staffing guidance, although there are no prescribed staffing levels in
England.
In a footnote at the bottom of the page:
[I]n Scotland, health boards and service providers have a statutory duty to follow appropriate methodology and ensure appropriate numbers of suitably qualified
staff providing care.
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
Yesterday, I was speaking to a neighbour, who is a retired nurse. We were talking about the alarmist way in which the Covid-19 outbreak is being covered by the media. She is a spontaneously kind and helpful person. During the conversation, she said with quiet emphasis, that she would NOT be offering her services should the demand on hospitals become very great. She said, “I am in my late 70s and it is people of my age who are most likely to suffer most severely from such infections, so, I am not going to go into a situation where I might make matters worse by falling ill myself.”
This is not someone who is being selfish or inconsiderate. This was a common sense statement.
The idea of retired people with medical skills being ‘drafted in’ – and I read such words in a newspaper – smacked of the autocratic arrogance of a government of people who believe they have the right to tell others what to do. These are the same people who have starved public services of funding under the ruse of ‘austerity’ (“We’re all in this together”, said David Cameron in 2010) and who seek to privatise sections of health service provision.
Crises have often been used by autocratic elites to pass dirigiste and draconian legislation and retain these powers to be used in other situations to curtail the freedoms of others. There was a hint in the ‘drafting in’ which suggested that these retirees might not have any say in the matter – they will do as they are tellt! Should any refuse, as my neighbour has indicated, the media would almost certainly pillory and bully them: “In a time of NATIONALCRISIS we need everyone to do their bit, etc.”
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