WHISTLEBLOWER champions will be installed in every Scottish health board to protect staff who raise concerns about the quality and delivery of care.

An Independent National Officer is to be appointed to ensure cases are properly dealt with in a move welcomed by nursing and medical leaders who fear staff are frightened to speak up for fear of losing their job.

Announcing the move, Health Secretary Shona Robison stressed that she was confident the NHS north of the Border has robust whistleblowing procedures in place.

But she added: "I want to go further and embed an honest and open reporting culture, where all staff have the confidence to speak up without fear, and with the knowledge that any genuine concern will be treated seriously and investigated properly."

The move is in response to a review Freedom to Speak Up, chaired by Sir Robert Francis QC into the treatment of NHS whistleblowers from across the UK.

Ms Robison added: "We have many of the recommendations from Sir Robert's review already in place - such as an integrated and consistent national policy and an external confidential alert line.

"However I want us to do even more and that is why I am announcing the creation of a new role, that will scrutinise the way health boards deal with whistleblowing cases."

Nursing leaders have been calling for action for several years to ensure staff can have faith in the system.

Norman Provan, associate director for employment relations at the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said: "Large numbers of nurses have genuine concerns about their ability to provide a safe and good quality service because of a lack of resources, according to both our own and NHS Scotland's staff surveys.

"Yet, in many situations, nurses and others do not feel able to raise these concerns, or that it is worth doing so."

The RCN raised the issue with First MinisterNicola Sturgeon and called for health boards to be held to account.

Doctors have stated they are worried that raising concerns would have implications for them personally and have called for safeguards to be in place.

Dr Peter Bennie, chair of the BMA in Scotland said: "No-one should be victimised for raising a concern. It often takes a huge amount of courage, but doctors have both the right and duty to speak out, and they should be supported to do so.

"We must ensure that there is an environment in which those who have genuine concerns are listened to and safeguarded and where staff know that by raising concerns they can contribute towards positive change."

The whistleblowing champions appointed to each health board will also deliver training for NHS staff on the procedures for raising concerns.

Legislation will be introduced to create a statutory duty of candour.

Ms Robison said the posts were part of a package of measures to ensure the NHS was listening to the concerns staff working in hospitals delivering care and acting on them where appropriate.

The Scottish Government has already implemented a Scotland Staff Governance Standard which requires employers to ensure that it is safe and acceptable to speak up about wrongdoing or malpractice.

It has also instructed boards to remove standard inclusion of confidentiality clauses form settlement agreements to ensure the right to whistleblow is not compromised.