Nurses get their big-screen due in must-see Late Shift
Well, as Late Shift shows, the Swiss have their own share of troubles. By the year 2030, they will be short of 30,000 nursing professionals - and 36% of trained nurses quit within just four years.
Those shocking statistics are hammered home in this night-in-the-life portrait of one nurse, Floria (Leonie Benesch), as she, a disaffected colleague, and a first-year student deal with close to 30 patients on their ward.
If you enjoyed the Stephen Graham-starring restaurant drama Boiling Point, then this is one to see for all the same reasons - fast-moving, filled with tension, superb characterisation - albeit with much higher stakes.
Floria's eight hours start manageably, but director Petra Volpe starts to ramp things up as darkness falls, and the calls, requests, and plates in the air increase by the half-hour. It's shocking how few people say thank you as Floria goes above and beyond.
This is one of the performances of the year from Benesch, who was so good in another must-see, September 5, a few months back. Come to think of it, you won't get a classier double bill.
A small film with big things to say, Late Shift closes with a chilling postscript from the World Health Organisation. It estimates a shortage of 13 million nurses by the year 2030.
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In 2015, a private members bill on assisted dying was proposed by ex-TD and minister John Halligan. In 2018, as debate on the issue continued to grow, the Joint Committee on Justice and Equality recommended that the Oireachtas consider referring the issue of assisted dying to the Citizens' Assembly for further consideration. This did not happen. More recently, former People Before Profit TD Gino Kenny sponsored the Dying with Dignity Private Members Bill in October 2020, and the Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill in 2024, neither of which progressed. A Special Oireachtas Joint Committee on Assisted Dying was eventually established in 2023, and it published its 96-page report in March 2024, based on sittings over six months, where they heard from over 70 witnesses, including experts in law, ethics, medicine, disability, palliative care, and psychiatry. The report details 38 specific recommendations for the potential legalisation of assisted dying in specific circumstances, chiefly that the legislation would allow for assisted dying for individuals with terminal illnesses expected to cause death within six months – or 12 months for neurodegenerative conditions. It also recommended the establishment of an independent body to oversee all assisted dying applications, as well as increased funding for palliative care, and enhanced research into economic disadvantage and health inequalities. The recommendations were supported by only nine of the committee's 14 members, and three published a dissenting minority report. In October of last year, however, the Dáil voted to accept the report, with 76 votes in favour and 53 against. Members were allowed a free or 'conscience' vote on the issue. An organisation known as Irish Doctors supporting Medical Assistance in Dying (IDsMAID) represents medical professionals in Ireland who advocate for the choice to access voluntary assisted dying, which they say is now available in 17 countries. A proposed model for how assisted dying might work in Ireland was drawn up by the group following the Dáil acceptance of the Oireachtas joint committee's report. The obvious opponents would be the Catholic Church, but also the palliative medicine community, who have sought to clarify their role and how people are medicated at the end of their lives. Disability rights advocates have also expressed their concerns. Yet public opinion has shifted considerably in the past two decades. An Amárach poll for RTÉ's Claire Byrne Show in 2021 found that 74pc of people would be in favour of legislation that would allow assisted dying under certain circumstances. It seems unlikely, however, that the Government will move forward with any such legislation.
