Details of an updated improvement plan for Edinburgh Royal Infirmary's troubled maternity unit have revealed how much work is needed to reach acceptable standards.
Just how much has been achieved since an unannounced inspection in June should be revealed at an all-party discussion at Holyrood this week.
But it really was quite shocking to see items like "Call bell system in place" and "... optimise use of clinical expertise" included as progress, when these measures should have been in place anyway.
Reports of "a positive shift in the numbers of women are triaged within 15 minutes," means more than a few were kept waiting much longer in the throes of labour and must be set against an observation of "delays to the induction of labour process of up to 29 hours."
"The majority of the staff we spoke with shared their concerns and feelings of being overwhelmed, described feeling unsupported and believed they were not being listened to," said the inspectors.
And some mothers "described their experience leaving them feeling alone and vulnerable."
If malpractice was happening at one of Scotland's biggest and most modern hospitals, you can be sure it's happening elsewhere. But the inspectors can't be everywhere, so who is blowing the whistle and who is listening?
