NEARLY 1,000 patients have been unnecessarily moved from ward to ward in Inverclyde Royal in just over a year, the Telegraph can reveal.

Greenock and Inverclyde MSP Duncan McNeil has criticised the practice, dubbed ‘boarding’, where sick people are moved for non-clinical reasons.

Mr McNeil — who chairs the health committee at the Scottish Parliament — says boarding has a detrimental impact on patients, especially the elderly.

He has also cited research which shows that it can spread infection and result in a longer stay in hospital wards for patients.

Mr McNeil told the Telegraph: “Several prominent medical experts, including from the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, have warned that boarding can increase the risk of harm to patients and lead to longer stays in hospital.

“So it’s of real concern to find that nearly a thousand patients were boarded between October 2012 and January 2014.

“According to the most recent Healthcare Improvement Scotland inspection report, published last Tuesday, 42 patients were boarded in the space of a week.” Some experts say the rise in boarding is due to a reduction in bed numbers and a rise in hospital admissions.

Mr McNeil obtained figures following a Freedom of Information request to NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

They confirmed that 970 patients had been moved for non-clinical reasons between October 2012 and January this year.

A monthly tally shows 48 such cases in January, with three people moved twice.

Last October the number of boarding episodes peaked at 87, with 71 patients moving once and 16 being moved twice.

Healthcare Improvement Scotland say improvements must be made in the care of elderly patients in acute care at IRH.

Inspectors said they didn’t see any issues with ‘patient flow’ but noted that in the week before their visit in August, 42 patients were boarded.

The report said: “However, we are aware that a number of patients are sometimes boarded out of the area where they should be looked after.

“For example, the week before the inspection, a total of 42 patients were boarded to other areas.

“Boarding is when patients are moved from one ward to another to meet the needs of the service, not because of the patient’s clinical needs.

“Staff we spoke with told us that if patients had to be boarded they would try not to board cognitively impaired patients, and this would only be done as a last resort.” Mr McNeil has requested an urgent meeting with health chiefs about his concerns over patient care.

He said: “I have arranged a meeting with the top health officials to get assurances that action is being taken to reduce the levels of boarding at IRH and to ensure that patients get the specialised care they need at all times.”