SCOTTISH Labour have been accused of pushing “inaccurate and misleading” figures by Scotland’s largest health board.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) launched a broadside at Anas Sarwar’s party after they claimed that the average number of available, staffed, paediatric beds at the Royal Hospital for Children fell from 200 in 2011-12 to 120 in 2020-2021.

Scottish Labour health spokesperson Jackie Baillie accused the board of inflicting a “hammer blow to paediatric care”.

However, a spokesperson for NHSGGC said that the claims from Labour had been “inaccurate”. The health board said the party had misinterpreted a “sub-set of data relating to paediatric beds reported by Public Health Scotland”.

READ MORE: NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde sees 40% drops in hospital beds for children

They went on: “Any claim that paediatric beds within NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde have been subject to ‘dangerous’ cuts is categorically untrue, and to report these figures as fact would be inaccurate and misleading.

“The actual figures for average staffed available beds as reported by Public Health Scotland is 237 (2019-20) and 230 (2020-21).”

Baillie had stated: “With children from all over the country coming to Glasgow for specialist treatment, it should be a centre of excellence – but instead beds are being stripped away.

“We cannot cut corners when it comes to kids’ health.

“This is the SNP’s flagship hospital, but instead of investing in child health the board is cutting beds.

“The SNP and the health board leadership must halt these swingeing cuts and restore bed numbers to where they need to be.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The Royal Hospital for Children (RHC) is the largest paediatric care centre in Scotland, providing family-centred care to newborns, infants, children and young people, both in hospital and in the community.

“The transfer of services from Paisley’s Royal Alexandra Hospital allowed the RHC to significantly expand the number of general paediatricians on the site, with more than 304,000 patients benefiting from a wide range of highly complex medical, surgical, cardiac and mental health services there in the last two years.

“Clinical teams working across RHC continue to facilitate care close to home, movement from inpatient to day care pathways and expanded delivery of care from home, which has led to a clinically appropriate reduction in inpatient bed usage.

“The redesign of services means children receive modern, high-quality care closer to their families.”