The Scottish executive has welcomed data pointing to a reduction in the number of delayed discharges from hospitals north of the border.

Whilst the number of patients facing the longest delays has dropped, health minister Frank McAveety has said the pace of change must be accelerated.

His comments came as the Scottish executive announced that NHS boards and local authorities must do more to ensure that their local plans are on track.

The data showed that there were 2920 patients "ready for discharge" in July - compared with 2951 in April.

McAveety welcomed the one per cent reduction but gave warning that he was looking for more improvement.

"I welcome the decrease in the total number of delayed discharges in Scotland and reductions in the number of patients facing the longest delays," he said.

"However, further and much more substantial improvements must be made if NHS Boards and LAs are to reach the tough targets we have set for reducing delayed discharges in every area of Scotland by April 2003.

"To underpin implementation of the Delayed Discharge Action Plan, we have given partnerships an additional £20 million to tackle unnecessary delays, enabling them to buy up to 1000 extra care packages by April next year.

"Three-quarters of this funding was not released until June - until we had fully approved the local plans - and therefore I appreciate that it would have had little impact on the July figures. However, by the next census we must ensure that this added investment is delivering real results."

The SNP dismissed the executive's claims - saying the figures actually revealed that the time for patients to be moved out of a blocked NHS bed had risen by over a week.

The party said the quarterly census of patients ready for discharge revealed that the median wait had jumped from 74 days in April to 83 days in July.

SNP shadow health minister, Nicola Sturgeon MSP, said: "The waiting time to be taken out of a blocked bed has jumped by over a week and despite spending twenty million pounds, the total number of patients has fallen by just 31.

"This is nothing less than abject failure. Yet again we are seeing the classic pattern from Labour. They are throwing money at the problem yet it continues to get worse.

"It is time to end the pointless cycle of failure and waste.

"Improved intermediate and residential care are the long-term solutions to the bed-blocking crisis in Scotland's hospitals and until the available investment is targeted on these areas, bed blocking will continue to blight the NHS."