First Minister Alex Salmond will this week be challenged to do more to support NHS staff following the latest public outcry by nurses at Perth Royal Infirmary.
Six months after receiving assurances from SNP Ministers over whistleblowing systems, Mid Scotland and Fife Tory MSP Liz Smith says more needs to be done to allow NHS staff to speak out.
Ms Smith has called for greater transparency to allow NHS staff to bring forward genuine concerns about inefficiency and clinical wrongdoing. The call comes after concerns about staffing levels at Perth Royal Infirmary.
In an open letter to NHS Tayside and nursing chiefs, an anonymous group of nursing staff at the hospital raised serious concerns about patient safety and care.
The trust has said that it is already moving to address some of those concerns while denying others but politicians are to meet officials on Friday to ask some tough questions.
And Ms Smith intends to go further after questioning the mechanisms in place for staff at PRI to raise issues over working practices with managers.
She will raise the issue of whistleblowing measures during First Minister’s questions on Thursday in the belief that further steps are required.
“Perth Royal Infirmary is one of the most treasured institutions in the whole of Perth and Kinross, and rightly so,” Ms Smith said.
“The dedicated professionalism of the doctors and nurses is first class, yet it is clear that far too many staff have concerns about current practices and the impact on patient care. It disturbs all of us that nursing staff have now made public their concerns following those expressed in January by senior surgeons and clinicians.
“Scottish Conservatives believe much more must be done to allow NHS staff of whatever position to bring forward genuine concerns about inefficiency or clinical wrongdoing. There must be confidence that their views will be heard and addressed by senior management.”
The move is backed by the Royal College of Nursing and BMA Scotland, she added.