NHS 24's chief executive is to leave the organisation at the end of July after seven years in the role.

Glasgow-based John Turner, who has been at NHS 24 since 2008, said he had enjoyed the job "immensely".

Mr Turner, who was a former chief executive at both Borders Primary Care NHS Trust and NHS Western Isles, said: "Having recently successfully delivered a number of important milestones, including the consolidation of the 111 service, completion of the 2014/15 year and with strong recent progress with our future programme this seems like the right time for me to decide to move on. I wish NHS 24 and all its staff the very best for the future."

Esther Robertson, the chairwoman of NHS 24, said it was "with regret" that the board had accepted Mr Turner's resignation.

She added: "John has served the organisation since 2008, leading the development of NHS 24 as Scotland's national telehealth and telecare organisation.

"The board would like to thank him for the dedicated service he has given during his time, and wish him well for his future career. Interim arrangements are currently being agreed."

NHS 24 has performed well for patients under Mr Turner, with the introduction of a new free helpline number - which resulted in a significant increase in calls - going smoothly.

However, plans to bring in a new IT system to handle calls and patient information went disastrously wrong. It ran massively over budget, has been enormously delayed and led to the Scottish Government having to bail out NHS 24 to the tune of millions.

One of the suppliers and NHS 24 have been engaged in both arbitration and legal action. The Herald also recently revealed corporate credit cards issued to a number of staff members had been withdrawn.

A graduate in Social Sciences, Mr Turner joined the NHS in 1987 as a National General Management Trainee in England, working in the East Midlands and Yorkshire areas.

He worked in general and teaching hospitals, as well as in community, mental health, and learning disabilities services. He became a Director of the Bassetlaw Hospital and Community Services NHS Trust in Nottinghamshire in 1992.

Mr Turner moved to Scotland in 1994 and spent eight years as the chief executive of the Community Health NHS Trust and then the Primary Care NHS Trust, in the Scottish Borders.

In 2003, he joined the Scottish Government's health department as pay modernisation director, leading the national implementation of the new General Medical Services contract for GPs.