PATIENT safety is under threat because of the staffing crisis blighting Scottish hospitals, nurses have warned in an unprecedented intervention.

One in three nurses treating patients in wards insist they are failing to provide all "necessary care" because of time pressures from staff shortages.

More than half believe they no longer have enough time to provide the level of care they would like while similar number say they would not like to be patients on their own wards.

Nursing chiefs claim conditions have now become "untenable" and insist a safety review on staff levels must be conducted at once.

The findings were drawn from a major survey on staffing levels conducted by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) which polled 3,323 nurses in Scotland The organisation questioned nursing staff across the UK - including 3,323 in Scotland – about their experiences on recent shifts.

Half reported patient care was compromised on their most recent shift because of a shortage of nurses, while 38 per cent did not feel satisfied with the quality of care.

A third of those surveyed said lack of time had resulted in them leaving necessary care undone, while many more said they worked an average of 46 minutes on the end of their shift to ensure vital work was done.

The RCN is calling for new legislation in each part of the UK that guarantees safe and effective levels of nursing staff alongside increased funding and pay.

Last year the organisation welcomed Scottish Government proposals to enshrine minimum NHS staffing levels in law, but said it would only work if backed up with funding for extra staff.

The findings come after regulator the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) warned earlier this year that more people were leaving the nursing profession than joining it.

Recent NMC figures show that in Scotland there were 2,472 nurses added to the register while 3,593 left - a difference of 1,119.

Theresa Fyffe, director of the RCN in Scotland, said: "Nursing staff are blowing the whistle on how just how untenable the situation is for them and for the people they care for.

"For too long the concerns of Scotland's nursing teams have been ignored, and the care of patients in hospitals and in their own homes has suffered as a result.

"This report shows the strength of feeling that there is amongst nurses and health care support workers who want to deliver the very best care to patients, but come up against the realities of workforce pressures on every shift."

She added: "The Scottish Government has the opportunity with its proposed safe staffing legislation to address these challenges and to safeguard nursing in Scotland for generations to come."

Janet Davies, Chief Executive and General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, said that nurses' honesty "must not be ignored".

"Nursing staff are revealing desperately sad experiences. Urgent safety reviews must begin around the UK and new laws on staffing should follow swiftly.

"Politicians must increase NHS funding to give patients the care they deserve and pay nurses a fairer wage.”

Opposition parties said the survey findings were a "wake-up call" for ministers.

Scottish Conservative health spokesman Miles Briggs said: "There's no shortage of warnings about staffing levels across Scotland's hospitals.

"But this is about as alarming as they get, and patients will be deeply concerned that so many nurses feel this way."

Scottish Labour’s health spokesperson Anas Sarwar said: "This report has revealed an appalling level of morale among nurses in Scotland.

“That the majority of nurses think that care is comprised due to staffing issues is a shocking indictment of the SNP’s record on our health service.

“It is clear from this survey that we need action to address the workforce crisis in the NHS.

Green MSP Alison Johnstone, "This survey is a wake-up call for the Scottish Government, with staff and patients clearly suffering because of understaffing."

She added: "Any legislation on this issue must deliver power to ensure safe and sustainable staffing. It's clear the current situation cannot continue."

Health Secretary Shona Robison said: “The link between safe and sustainable staffing levels and high quality care is well established.

"Scotland has led the UK in the development of nursing and midwifery workload and workforce planning tools, ensuring we have the right number of staff, with the right skills, in place.

“We have committed to enshrine safe staffing in law, placing the nursing and midwifery workforce planning tools on a statutory footing. We will continue to work with key stakeholders, including professional bodies and partnership organisations, including the RCN, over the coming months so that the legislation we introduce to parliament enables provision of safe, person centred and effective care.

“In addition to the Bill, we are creating an estimated 2,600 extra nurse and midwifery training places over the next four years. This is part of a wider package of measures to support and sustain the nursing workforce, following the publication of part one of the National Health and Social Care Workforce Plan in June 2017. Since September 2006, there has been a 5.6 per cent increase in qualified nurses and midwives, with an additional 2314 working in our health service in June this year.”