That was the stark warning from nursing union RCN after Ucas released figures showing that just 4,650 people have applied to begin nursing courses this autumn — a fall of 8.3 per cent in one year.

The union has raised alarm bells that what is being witnessed is not simply a single fluctuation, but part of a longer-term trend that if unchecked could spell disaster for services already struggling to recruit.

Applications were as high as 7,920 in 2021, before falling to 6,690 in 2022 and 5,070 in 2023.

The latest fall means that numbers have dropped by a staggering 41.3 per cent in just three years.

While noting there was still time to apply for courses, RCN Scotland associate director Eileen McKenna said: “Nursing remains a fantastic career but these figures suggest getting that message across to potential applicants is getting harder and harder every year.

“That’s now three years in a row that the number of applicants at this time of year has fallen and it’s an extremely worrying trend.

“Scotland does not have the number of nurses now that it needs to meet the demand for care in health and social care services.

“The NHS alone has more than 3,700 registered nurse vacancies.

“This is a desperate situation and it is more important than ever that the ministerial nursing and midwifery taskforce proposes the right actions to directly address the workforce challenges.

“The Scottish government must back the taskforce up by finding the financial resources needed to deliver change and ensure nursing is positioned as a career of choice.”

Scottish Labour’s Jackie Baillie said: “These figures are a damning reminder of how damaged the perception of nursing in Scotland has become under the SNP’s watch.

“Years of seeing our NHS with an understaffed, overstretched nursing workforce has put a generation of young people off entering this fantastic profession.”

Challenging the newly installed SNP Health Secretary, she added: “Neil Gray must realise that unless he comes forward with a credible plan that will address staffing shortages and reduce the pressure on our health and social care services more people will avoid a career in nursing and our NHS will continue to lose out on the dedicated nurses it desperately needs.”

The Scottish government has been approached for comment.