In 2016/17 there were 398 beds in the region in both acute and cottage hospitals.
But new figures from last year, 2021-22, show that number had dropped by 21.3 per cent to 313 beds.
And one MSP is querying if the region now has sufficient beds to meet patient demand.
Galloway and West Dumfries MSP Finlay Carson also says a lack of beds has a knock-on effect across the area’s health and social care system, with increased waits at A&E and an ever-growing number of patients in Dumfries and Galloway waiting on vital procedures.
Government figures shared by the politician shows a year on year decrease in beds, decreasing 4.2 per cent in 2020/21 to 2021/22 from 327 to 313.
Raising the matter with Health Secretary Humza Yousaf in Holyrood, Mr Carson called on him to ensure bed capacity levels return to what they wear to ease the pressure on staff and patients.
He said: “Cottage hospital type facilities are vital in tackling the endemic problem of delayed discharge, which is having a knock-on impact throughout the whole healthcare system”.
“Bed numbers in Dumfries and Galloway remain significantly below their peak from a number of years ago.”
He expressed concern about the continuing closure of cottage hospitals locally, adding: “This is clearly having an impact and we need NHS Dumfries and Galloway and the Scottish Government to act to re-open or replace these facilities in our communities.
“While the existing cottage hospital building may not come up to what moderns standards require, we need to hear, as a matter of urgency, what the health board’s plans are to provide beds for step down and palliative care close to the communities where the patients come from.
“The shortage of hospital beds in Dumfries and Galloway is unacceptable and a symptom of the SNP’s mismanagement of our health service.”
