The findings of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) employment survey follow official figures last week showing Scotland’s NHS is short of more than 2,789 nurses.

The college said many were facing severe hardship due to a wage cap, with three quarters of staff (74 per cent) feeling worse off than they did five years ago.

Six in 10 (61 per cent) of nurses said they were too busy to give patients the level of care they would like.

Four in ten (40 per cent) told researchers money worries caused them to lose sleep, while 36 per cent said they were looking for a new job.

The starting salary for a Scottish nurse in the main grade, Band 5, is £22,440 rising to £29,034 for those at the top of the scale.

The RCN argues that the cap on pay increases means that in real terms they have suffered a 14 per cent cut since 2010.

First Minster Sturgeon has promised to lift the 1 per cent public sector pay cap but has not revealed what the increase would be.

Green co-convenor Patrick Harvie wants tax to go up to fund an inflation-based hike of at least three per cent to support Thursday’s Budget.

This would cost £10 million more than the SNP’s highest cash-raising option of £290 million.

But RCN Scotland director Theresa Fyffe said Finance Secretary Derek Mackay’s plans must include an “above inflation pay award”.

She said: “Given the prolonged pay freeze and soaring nursing vacancies left unfilled it is no surprise that our survey highlights that the morale of nurses and health care support workers in our NHS is plummeting.

“For too long the concerns of Scotland’s nursing teams have been ignored, and nurses have been suggesting they don’t have the resources to fulfil their jobs properly.

“The survey’s findings should fire a warning shot across the bows, for the Scottish Government our nursing workforce is at breaking point.”

Around 800 nurses took part in the RCN survey which also found almost two thirds (65 per cent) believed their job band or grade was inappropriate for the work they actually do.

Sixty-eight per cent described nursing as a rewarding profession, but just 38 per cent would recommend it as a career.

Scottish Tory health spokesman Miles Briggs described the results as “alarming” and added they “expose the challenges faced by hard-working NHS staff.”

He said: “The SNP is in sole charge of health, and has been for more than a decade.

“It can’t blame anyone else for this situation, and should set out how it’s going to make life better for Scotland’s over-stretched nurses.”

Anas Sarwar, for Scottish Labour, said: “This survey is utterly damning and confirms what Labour has been saying for some time - Scotland’s nurses are underpaid and undervalued under the SNP.”

Green MSP Alison Johnstone said: “The Finance Secretary must listen to groups representing frontline workers such as RCN Scotland and back the basic principle that a pay rise for our public services is due and can be funded, not from cuts elsewhere, but from fairer taxation that protects low earners.”

Health Secretary Shona Robison said NHS staffing had increased by more than 12,400 under the SNP.

She added: “We’ve also maintained a policy of no compulsory redundancies in Scotland, ensuring greater job security, which has not been replicated in England.

“A qualified nurse in Scotland is paid up to £312 more than counterparts in England and Wales, and all entry level support staff earn over £1,000 more than their counterparts in England. 

“However, with inflation rising, the Scottish Government recognises that the present pay restraint policy is unsustainable, which is why we were the first government in the UK to commit to lifting the 1 per cent pay cap.”