A lack of care home places kept some patients in hospital

The number of "blocked" beds in Scotland's hospitals has risen by just over eight per cent in three months.

Figures released by the government show 2,240 patients were waiting to be released in July, an increase of 174 over the previous quarter.

Many had to remain in hospital because of a shortage of nursing home places.

The figure is 23% down, equalling 680 patients, on the same period for the same quarter in 2002.

Ministers ordered health chiefs to cut bed blocking by 1,000 by April this year and they achieved that goal - reducing delayed discharge from 3,116 to 2,066 during the first three months of the year.

The Deputy Health Minister, Tom McCabe, described the new figures as "disappointing".

On Tuesday, he met a number of NHS boards and local authorities and told them they must do more to ensure that the targets are achieved.

"We have invested an extra �30m of public money year on year and we need to see sustained improvement.

"I am keen to know why this has not been the case in this quarter," he said.

"At the end of the day we are dealing with people. We are dealing with some of the most frail and vulnerable people in our society and so perhaps more than in any other area it's important that we achieve sustainable success."

Mr McCabe gave a dressing down to health board chiefs from Tayside, which had a 20% increase; Forth Valley, which saw a 19% increase, Lothian which had a 7.5% increase and Borders with a 5% increase.