Student nurses are leaving the profession because of poor support during hospital placements, it was claimed last night. The drop-out rate from courses in Scotland has risen to more than 28%, according to the Royal College of Nursing.

A schizophrenic who stabbed a teacher to death is being sought by police after he failed to return to his supported accommodation last week.

Doctors in Scotland yesterday voted in favour of cannabis drugs being prescribed on the NHS to ease the suffering of patients. Members of the British Medical Association, meeting in Dundee,

Every police division in Glasgow will have access to an arrest-and-referral scheme for drug addicts and alcoholics if Labour is re-elected to run the city council, the party has pledged.

Telling grandparents to take it easy could do more harm than good, an expert has said. While many people believe the elderly should relax to prevent bumps and bruises, research suggests that being inactive could actually lead to more falls.

At least 11 GP surgeries in Scotland have shut their doors to new patients, despite record levels of pay and investment. But GPs’ leaders blame the closures on lack of resources and say the family doctor service north of the Border is heading towards a crisis.

They pay no taxes, cost the country millions in maintenance and most are unlikely to vote in three weeks’ time. Disaffected, disenfranchised and disengaged, they are the so-called “Neet” generation.

A record number of people now behind bars in Scotland has led to a call for a rethink on sentencing policy. Last month there were 7,378 people in jail – a new high despite 15 years of falling crime rates.

Scotland’s political parties set out their plans on international aid at a hustings event on Sunday. Following a call by eight of Scotland’s leading aid agencies, the main parties detailed what they intended to do to tackle global poverty.

Care worker Susan Gray is trusted to look after some of society’s most vulnerable people and has access to their medication. But the Sunday Mail has revealed she has a sordid little sideline to boost her income…selling junkies prescription drugs, with cannabis thrown in for good measure.