HEALTH workers warned yesterday that short-staffing in the NHS is putting patients at risk.

Five thousand nurses surveyed by Unison said that they feared for patients as a result of the dangerously low staffing levels that are the result of the coalition’s cuts and privatisation.

The survey revealed an “overstretched and demoralised” workforce, with two-thirds saying that understaffing had jeopardised patients’ care.

And half of the nurses said they didn’t get to spend enough time with each patient.

Unison said patients become endangered if each nurse is having to care for eight patients.

But two in five workers said they often have to look after eight or more patients, rising to 55 per cent on night shifts.

Unison head of health Christina McAnea said it is “deeply worrying” that little has changed in the last four years.

“Staff are still not able to see all their patients, despite working through their breaks and doing lots of unpaid overtime,” she added.

“With not enough money to fund adequate staffing levels, nurses and midwives are running themselves into the ground as they struggle to keep the health service going.”

She called the NHS “the most significant issue as the election approaches” and warned voters of the consequences of another five years of Tory rule.

Unison delegates are currently in Liverpool for its annual health conference.