Bed blocking in Scottish hospitals has risen eight per cent in a year, according to new statistics.

A total of 1,390 patients were subject to delayed discharge, according to figures from the May census.

This is up eight per cent on the 1,286 delayed in the same month the previous year.

Delayed discharge, also known as bed blocking, happens when a patient is medically fit to leave hospital but arrangements have not been put in place to enable them to go home.

Of those delayed in May 2018, the majority - 1,152 - were delayed for more than three days.

The most common reason for this was health and social care related which amounted to 74 per cent, followed by patients having complex needs and patient and family-related reasons.

A total of 43,244 days were spent in hospital due to delayed discharge in May, up 9 per cent from 39,651 in May 2017.

The average number of beds occupied per day due to this has risen each month since January to 1,395 in May.

Scottish Labour health spokesman Anas Sarwar said: “The SNP government’s broken promise is costing Scotland millions of pounds each year and putting an intolerable strain on NHS wards.

“Hundreds of patients each month are languishing unnecessarily in hospital beds.

“Much of the delay in discharging patients is due to social care issues and delays in care assessments - the result of the SNP government’s £1.5 billion cut to council budgets.”

His Conservative counterpart Miles Briggs said: “The SNP has used winter and flu as excuses for everything from increasingly cancelled operations to lengthening mental health waiting times.

“There is simply no excuse for these latest worsening figures other than the mismanagement of the SNP.”

The Scottish Liberal Democrats called for a “sustainable and realistic plan” to cut costs and reduce backlogs.

“The integrated health and social care system is clearly not functioning as intended,” the party’s Alex Cole-Hamilton said.

“It’s cruel to leave people trapped in hospital when they are healthy enough to go home.”

Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said: “During 2017/18, a 7% reduction in bed days lost to delay was achieved and we are looking to continue that overall progress this year.

“To support this progress there will be almost £500 million of NHS frontline investment in social care and integration.

“We expect local integrated health and social care partnerships to make long-term, sustainable progress to ensure more people are able to leave hospital as soon as appropriate following their treatment.”