A NEW whistleblowing champion has been appointed at NHS Tayside, days after the previous post-holder quit claiming serious problems were "not being taken seriously".
The health board, which has been blighted by financial scandals and a probe into its mental health service, confirmed that former radiographer Trudy McLeay will take over the watchdog role from Munwar Hussain, following his resignation last week.
Read more: Whisteblowers' champion quits - says 'serious' concerns ignored
It comes as Health Secretary Jeane Freeman prepares to make a statement to the Scottish Parliament at 2.30pm today addressing the latest concerns surrounding NHS Tayside.
John Brown, chairman of NHS Tayside, said: “I feel very strongly that staff have the opportunity and the confidence to raise concerns and it must be as straightforward as possible.
"NHS Tayside takes each and every concern raised through the whistleblowing process very seriously.
"Our Whistleblowing Policy has a simple three-step approach, encouraging staff to be open and giving a guarantee that all concerns will be considered.
“I am pleased to announce that Board member Trudy McLeay, a former radiographer in NHS Tayside, has agreed to take on this assurance and oversight role.”
Read more: Shona Robison says poor culture at top of NHS Tayside 'in a league of its own'
Ms McLeay joined the Board as a non-executive member earlier this year.
She spent much of her career working throughout NHS Tayside, latterly managing MRI scanning and working as a project manager with cancer charity Macmillan creating patient referral pathways.
Her appointment comes after Mr Hussain confirmed he was stepping down as the whistleblowers' champion, a role he has held since April.
He said: "Certain matters were escalated to me that were serious and cause for concern.
"I, in turn, highlighted these issues to the chairman and others. I feel that I have not been given the appropriate assurances that these important matters are being dealt with."
Mr Hussain, who also chaired the staff governance committee and was a member of the audit and remuneration committees, said he had written to the First Minister and Health Secretary outlining his concerns.
Read more: NHS Tayside axed own rules to use charity cash for new IT
Two of Mr Hussain's colleagues on the audit committee - Stephen Hay and Doug Cross - have also resigned.
Earlier this year the Herald revealed that the health board had temporarily suspended its own rules in 2014 in order to use £3.6 million from its charity pot - the NHS endowment fund - to cover routine spending. Most of the cash was spent on new IT.
The scandal led NHS Tayside's then chief executive
At the time of the revelations in April, NHS Tayside was also under fire for "misrepresenting" its accounts since 2012 by by using Government funds earmarked for e-health initiatives to balance the books.
An independent inquiry into NHS Tayside's mental health services was also launched earlier this month following claims in a BBC documentary that patients at Dundee's Carseview Centre had been "pinned to the floor" and "bullied".
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