Corruption in healthcare is one of those topics everyone whispers about and few report. Now more than 160 health workers from across Macedonia - doctors, midwives, medical staff - will undergo training to recognise, prevent and report corruption in the public health system.

The aim of the training is to sharpen the knowledge and skills of those who are on the front line every day - where the patient most often meets the "envelope", the queue-jumping, or the pressure to pay for something that should be free. The idea is good on paper: if workers know how to recognise and report corruption, the system becomes more transparent.

But the training is the easy part. The real question is what happens once a health worker actually reports a colleague or a superior. Is there protection for whistle-blowers, or does reporting mean stress, isolation and trouble at work? Without solid protection, even the best training stays theory.

For patients who have lived for years with the feeling that the health service comes with a hidden price, this is a step in the right direction - but only a step. The training will show results when the first reported case ends in a sanction, not a cover-up. Until then, this is a promise waiting to be proven in practice.