Hospital patients are being left to die alone, as nurses try to look after 14 cases at a time, a new report warns.

The Royal College of Nursing said staff were left sobbing and “heartbroken” by “soul-destroying” neglect of the vulnerable, with seven in ten reporting shortages of staff on their last shift.

The poll of more 30,000 nurses found a quarter reported shifts where nurses had to try to look after at least 14 patients at a time. Almost half said no action was taken when they raised concerns with hospital managers.

Accident and emergency (A&E) departments had the lowest quality ratings of all hospital services, with one in seven A&E nurses rating care as poor or very poor.