The decision has meant a second cardiac services problem for Health Minister Susan Deacon.

New emphasis on child cardiac services

The Scottish Executive was forced to intervene when the country's only heart transplant surgeon resigned from his post at Glasgow Royal Infirmary last month.

It was announced last September that the national service for children's heart surgery would be set up at Yorkhill.

That followed lengthy consideration about whether the new unit would go to Glasgow or the Sick Children's Hospital in Edinburgh.

Now Scotland's leading paediatric heart surgeon, Pankaj Mankad, has told BBC Scotland he has decided not to accept the offer of the post to lead the Yorkhill unit.

Mr Mankad, who works at Edinburgh's Sick Children's Hospital, was a leading advocate of the advantages of creating a single national service for children's heart surgery.

Morgan Jamieson: Another surgeon will be hired

Ms Deacon announced on Wednesday that the new children's heart surgery service would start at Yorkhill on 1 July but there was no reference to who would lead it.

The minister said that while Yorkhill would house the main service, intensive care services in Edinburgh and Glasgow would be maintained.

She said the national network of specialised children's services would also be strengthened.

Morgan Jamieson, of the Yorkhill NHS Trust said: "We already have in Glasgow two surgeons who have a combined consultant experience of over 30 years in children's heart surgery and are clearly more than able to deliver the service we are now being asked to deliver.

"We will now have to look for a third surgeon and it may well be appropriate to appoint a younger person who can grow up into the service and be the person around whom we will build for the future."

It is believed Mr Mankdad decided against the move to Glasgow because of behind-the-scenes politicking by health chiefs in both cities.

Mr Mankdad was a member of the inquiry team which examined children's cardiac suregry at Bristol Royal Infirmary amid fears standards were not what they should have been.