Well over one hundred patients in NHS Tayside had their operations cancelled in January and December as a result of bed shortages and other hospital related issues.
ISD Scotland who produced the figures revealed that January was the worst month since May 2015.
Following talks over mental health care at NHS Tayside last Friday these latest statistics will come as a warning to the health board which is facing challenges balancing rural and urban care.
The figures also represent a 190% increase on May where only 22 operations were cancelled as a result of capacity issues.
Commenting Murdo Fraser MSP said:
“Ongoing issues with care at NHS Tayside are highlighted by these statistics which show that well over 100 operations have been cancelled as a result of clinical shortages in the last two months.
“These figures are up substantially on the rest of the year which would indicate a growing problem of bed blocking and bed shortages in the NHS Tayside area.
“Staff are being pushed to the edge and ultimately cracks are beginning to show. In 2012 just 14 surgeries were cancelled as a result of ward bed shortages.
“The Scottish Government keeps telling us that we have never had it so good thanks to their running of the NHS, but the statistics tell a different story and I would call on both the Government and Tayside bosses to work together to ensure that these trends are reversed.”