There was a 45 per cent increase in the problem of bed blocking between September 2021 and September 2022.
And NHS Dumfries and Galloway chief executive Jeff Ace last week made a plea to families to help get people who no longer require clinical care out of hospital to free up beds.
However, South Scotland MSP Colin Smyth said the problems lie in a lack of carers, and an increasing number of care home closures that are reducing the opportunities for older people to leave hospital.
He said: “Every month we are seeing dire figures across the south of Scotland when it comes to delayed discharge and our fantastic NHS is struggling.
“Almost everyone knows of families who are dealing with this terrible situation and it is getting worse.
“This crisis is damaging patients’ recovery, draining precious funds from our NHS at the worst possible time and resulting in an enormous pressure on NHS staff caring for people who shouldn’t be in hospital.
“The Scottish Government must get a grip and properly invest in social care so that people can get the support they need and the NHS can focus on treating people.
“At present the Government are like rabbits caught in the headlights. They simply have no answers to this crisis.”
