Unison said it welcomed the apology and invited Clarkson to spend a day with a healthcare assistant.

Too many unqualified, unregulated healthcare assistants on the wards are responsible for the care of patients.

Most members are registered nurses but student nurses and healthcare assistants are also admitted.

Complications during birth can often result from a lack of healthcare assistants or medical facilities.

They included a midwife, two staff nurses, three healthcare assistants and one housekeeper.

That would be a face to machine interview with a Siberian healthcare assistant to operate the keyboard.

But perhaps most worrying is the situation with healthcare assistants (HCAs).

At present, healthcare assistants have no governing or regulatory body.

Unison accepted his apology and invited him to spend a day with a healthcare assistant.

He also said the college was "disappointed" that its call to regulate healthcare assistants had not been taken forward.