There is no escaping the fact that yesterday was a bad day for health secretary Shona Robison.

Already under fire over the NHS Tayside scandal, concerns over its management were compounded by the evidence given to Holyrood's public audit committee by Auditor General Caroline Gardner yesterday.

NHS chiefs had not heeded warnings about the finances of the struggling health board, Ms Gardner said. Not only that, she took the issue straight to the desk of the health secretary.

“There is a significant question about why, throughout the NHS system, warnings from auditors are not being taken seriously," she told the committee. "The reason why is something you would need to ask of Scottish Government and of the board itself.”

This put Ms Robison in the unhappy position, dreaded equally by football managers and cabinet ministers, of needing a vote of confidence from the boss.

Nicola Sturgeon was forced to repeatedly defend her health secretary and close friend at First Minister's Questions, insisting she had her full support and characterising her actions in replacing the leadership at NHS Tayside as proactive, rather than reactive.

No reasonable observer could interpret them that way, however and Scottish Labour leader

Richard Leonard rightly pointed out nobody who was paying attention could have been surprised NHS Tayside was in serious trouble. The board has needed more than £45m in government loans since 2012.

The fact that that Ms Robison's own constituency sits plum in the middle of the board's area adds to her embarrassment.

Questions about service reductions from her own side at FMQs increased the mounting pressures upon her.

Ms Robison has faced calls for her resignation, and these were repeated yesterday by her opponents.

Should she go? There are certainly real concerns over her handling of a brief which is almost unrivalled in the concerns of voters.

Apart from the health boards which are struggling financially - NHS Tayside is far from alone in this - there are other concerns.

Last summer Audit Scotland drew attention to concerns over workforce planning . Boards have faced growing overtime bills and agency nursing costs. Last week it was revealed nearly one in ten health visitor posts are vacant. In fairness this is partly because the Scottish Government has created hundreds of new posts, but the difficulty in filling them suggests a lack of forward planning.

Waiting time targets have been repeatedly missed. Guarantees on treatment time have not been fulfilled. There is a recruitment and morale crisis in general practise. A promise of post-diagnostic support for those suffering from dementia has not been delivered. Drug related deaths increase year on year.

There is a need to change the way health and care services are provided and that project is under way but bed-blocking remains an obstinate problem.

The Scottish Government argues NHS Scotland is in better shape than its English counterpart. Many working in the health service on both sides of the border would agree. But to be better than our neighbours cannot be the final measure of success for a health secretary.

Ms Robison has a plan for health and social care but this will take time to bear fruit. She has acted - belatedly - over NHS Tayside.

She should not go yet, but the board's problems give the impression she has been asleep on her watch. Time is running out for her to demonstrate that she can take charge of the significant concerns across a worryingly wide range of fronts.