Background The nursing profession has been challenged to improve standards of care in the UK. Nursing has been, and continues to be, considered a caring profession, but this reputation has been undermined since the events in Mid-Staffordshire Hospitals emerged between 2005 and 2009. The ensuing debate in the professional nursing journals sought to apportion blame under the guise of seeking solutions. Many arguments were revisited. This included scrutiny of undergraduate nursing education post-1996 when provision...