The shocking case emerged as serious concerns are raised about a ‘bed crisis’.

Hugh Henry, Labour MSP for Renfrewshire South, says he has had a number of complaints from people who have been transferred from the RAH to Inverclyde Royal Hospital due to a bed shortage.

He said one patient was kept at Inverclyde Royal for almost two months because no beds were available at the RAH.

Mr Henry, pictured, says he is so concerned about the situation that he has written to raise it with Robert Calderwood, the chief executive of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

He said: “I have been told by staff in the NHS that there are huge problems at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley — there just aren’t enough beds.

“People are being transferred down to Inverclyde Royal, and not just for a couple of days, some people have had to wait seven weeks.

“My own mother-in-law was transferred down to the IRH and was there for over a week.

“I have no issues with the quality of care at IRH, that’s first class — the issue is more for families, as this is a major inconvenience to them.

“If somebody is elderly or doesn’t have a car then it may be very difficult for them to visit their relative 20 miles away. It’s a real worry that people are not being able to be treated at their local hospital.” Mr Henry has criticised First Minister Nicola Sturgeon over the situation.

He said: “These particular problems are caused by Nicola Sturgeon’s decision to slash the number of hospital beds.

“She also promised to eliminate delayed discharges and bed blocking but it’s getting worse.” In response to Mr Henry’s comments, health bosses released a statement defending their actions — saying that transferring patients to other hospitals is normal practice during busy periods.

A spokesperson for NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde health board said: “We recognise that at certain times during the year — such as the winter period — our hospitals can experience an increased demand for beds.

“We plan for this by ensuring that we have a flexible bed management model in place which allows us to transfer patients across hospital sites with appropriate beds.

“It is important to note that bed occupancy changes hour-by-hour as patients are discharged and new patients admitted.

“We manage our beds through regular bed management meetings and as part of our winter plans have opened additional capacity.

“This is continually reviewed with our clinical teams, as are patients who have been transferred to and from other hospitals.

“In the case of Mr Henry’s relative the patient was transferred back from Inverclyde Royal Hospital to the Royal Alexandra Hospital on Tuesday.” The Scottish Government announced this week that it was taking urgent action to address the problems.

She said: “The Scottish Government is taking substantial action to ease the pressures on hospitals.

“This includes a newly appointed support team which is working directly with the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley to help improve performance in the accident and emergency department.

“The new support team, made up of unscheduled care managers from the Scottish Government, will be working with the hospital to identify immediate measures and key actions to support improvements.” The spokeswoman also said that more funds will also be ploughed into the health service.

She added: “We are also increasing the resource health budget by £380 million next year, taking it to over £12 billion for the first time.

“We have record numbers of nurses, and consultants working across the NHS.

“We are targeting £100 million specifically to help health boards and local authorities tackle delayed discharge.

“Last month we also announced a new approach to unscheduled care, which aims to ensure the whole NHS works together effectively from a patient’s first contact to, if they require admission, their discharge from hospital back into the community.”