WILLIE Rennie has joined calls for Health Secretary Shona Robison to resign in the wake of the NHS Tayside scandal.
The Scottish Liberal Democrat leader insisted "change will only come when there is change at the top" – insisting Ms Robison must take responsibility.
It comes after The Herald revealed £2.7m of charity cash was raided from the health board’s endowment fund in 2014 and spent retrospectively on general running costs.
Scottish Labour have already demanded Ms Robison step aside after insisting she had “breached the trust of the public”.
READ MORE: Pressure on Shona Robison to resign over NHS 'failures'
Earlier this week, Scotland's public spending watchdog revealed repeated warnings over NHS Tayside were not taken seriously.
Speaking at his party's conference in Aviemore, Mr Rennie accused the Health Secretary of using Tayside bosses as "human shields".
He added: “How can it be right for the people brought in after the mistakes to carry the can alone for those mistakes?
“So, because of NHS Tayside. Because of the shortage of GPs. The failures in social care. Failures in A&E. Failures in waiting times. Failures in mental health.
“I am fed up with it. These failures must mean change must come. We should not expect things to just carry on.
“I don’t often call for resignations. Shona Robison must accept that she is responsible. Change will only come when there is change at the top. She must resign. And she must resign now.”
READ MORE: Pressure on Shona Robison to resign over NHS 'failures'
Mr Rennie also criticised the SNP for successive failures in mental health – insisting there are "problems rights across our NHS".
He said people were "fed up with ten years of division, with one half of Scotland pitted against the other", and hit out at the Nationalists for focusing on the timing of another independence referendum.
He said: "You would think that the SNP would accept that erecting borders, any kind of borders, is not in our interest.
"They can’t see it but every time the SNP speak to point out the flaws of Brexit, they undermine the case for independence too."
He called on "principled and passionate Europeans" in the Labour Party to join the Liberal Democrats in attempting to halt Brexit.
READ MORE: Pressure on Shona Robison to resign over NHS 'failures'
He added: "Together we can persuade MPs to let the people decide. We have to stop this damaging Brexit. And we have to stop it now."
Advocating a federal UK, he argued agreement between the Scottish and UK Governments over post-Brexit powers would bring such an arrangement within "touching distance".
A spokesman for Health Secretary Shona Robison: "Willie Rennie's petty, personalised attack on Shona does him no credit whatsoever - the Health Secretary has addressed the issues facing NHS Tayside, where a new leadership team has been installed.
"And she is presiding over a health service where we are investing record amounts of money, with record high numbers of staff. We will get on with the job of delivering for patients and leave Willie Rennie to gripe from the sidelines."
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