By Professor John Robertson

In the Guardian, today, days before an election:

NHS patients are being left unseen in pain and in some cases to die alone because shifts do not have enough registered nurses, a survey shows.

The Royal College of Nursing said analysis of a survey it carried out showed that only a third of shifts had enough registered nurses on duty.

The union has also gathered testimonies from nurses who talk of always “rushing” and being asked to do more; working in “completely unsafe” levels of care; and having to make “heartbreaking” decisions on who does or doesn’t get seen.

Shortages mean individual nurses are often caring for dozens of patients at a time, the RCN said. It has called for limits on the maximum number of patients for whom a single nurse can be responsible.

but only at the very end:

The RCN said the survey covered all of the UK but the “vast majority” of respondents were from England.

So, a self-selecting sample of around 11 000 out of around three quarters of a million nurses in the UK, 1.46%, tiny and unscientifically constructed.

Just how many of Scotland’s 70 000? No doubt Reporting Scotland will find one who certainly is not the next door neighbour of Anas Sarwar’s second-cousin, how dare you?

I cannot see the full report anywhere. If you can, please send me the link.

To finish:

Astonishingly, NHS Scotland has 50% more nurses than NHS England. Could the Scottish Government have played any part in this?