As with Mrs Thatcher before him, Blair and his quangos report that things with the NHS are getting better. Whilst some moves by Labour to abolish the inefficient NHS trusts are to be welcomed the Royal College of Nurses have said a survey of their members indicates all is NOT WELL in the NHS.

Who would you believe, the guys on the front line or Mr bureaucrat?

RCN officer in Scotland, Ms Lynn Masson, said: "This survey endorses what nurses tell us every day, that there are simply not enough qualified staff to do the job and that patient care is being compromised. "Nursing shortages are no longer a problem confined to London and the south-east of England but are beginning to hit Scotland. "This problem will get worse unless action is taken. We need to stem the tide of nurse shortages and we will only do that if the Government awards nurses a fair pay increase."

The RCN claims there are some 8000 unfilled nursing vacancies in Scotland and England.

Labours health care manifesto lie