MINISTERS are "in denial" over a culture of fear and secrecy in the Scottish health service, a former whistleblower has said.

The warning follows a damning report into the treatment of whistleblowers in the NHS across the UK by Sir Robert Francis QC.

Sir Robert recommended a raft of measures to improve the situation and called for a sweeping change in culture.

However, Sukhomoy Das, a doctor who was awarded an £8600 payout after NHS Ayrshire and Arran was found to have victimised him, called for the Scottish Government to hold a public inquiry into the issue.

He said: "The Scottish Government are, from my point of view, in complete denial that there is a problem in NHS Scotland. Patient safety concerns have been covered up and instead the whistleblowers have been victimised."

Professor Derek Bell, president of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, also called for action north of the Border.

He said: "We welcome the publication of this report and believe it imperative that the lessons learned are acted upon - on too many occasions in the past reports of other NHS inquiries and reviews have not sufficiently influenced change.

"We recognise that much more needs to be done to support doctors and other NHS staff in raising concerns about poor practice within the NHS.

"We believe a transparent supportive environment in which the open reporting of concerns is welcomed, used as a positive learning experience and acted upon is now essential."

A Scottish Government said ministers and officials from NHS Scotland would carefully consider the findings.

She said: "Our aim is that all staff should have the confidence to speak up without fear and with the knowledge that any genuine concern will be treated seriously and investigated properly.

"The NHS Scotland staff governance standard places a specific obligation upon boards to ensure it is safe and acceptable for staff to speak up about wrongdoing or malpractice within their organisation, particularly in relation to patient safety.

"Work has already been done to introduce and develop a robust package of measures which encourage and support staff to raise any concerns they may have."

In Westminster, proposals to encourage NHS staff to speak out will be fast-tracked following the a damning report.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt announced the move after the report highlighted "serious problems" which were preventing NHS staff raising concerns.

The measures recommended by Sr Robert include asking every NHS organisation to identify one member of staff that other workers can go to with their concerns, who will then report directly to trust chief executives.

The Government will also consult on establishing a national "whistleblowing guardian" within the Care Quality Commission which will review the most serious cases.

Mr Hunt said the Government will also legislate to protect whistleblowers from discrimination when applying for other jobs and this should be done now.