As our health service lurches through the seasons, the compare-and-despair temptation is ever present. Surely, everything has to be brilliant in, say, Switzerland?
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.
