Medics have cancelled more than 1,000 operations in Scotland in the last two years because of a lack of equipment, according to new figures.

A freedom of information request by Scottish Labour shows a total of 1,085 operations have not gone ahead due to medical staff not having the equipment needed to carry them out since 2017-2018.

The number of cancelled operations has also risen during that time, with 427 cancellations in 2017-2018 and 658 in 2018-2019.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde had the largest increase over the period, with the number of cancellations rising from 70 to 335 in the most recent figures.

In November last year, the board was forced to close the Cowlairs Decontamination Unit, which cleans instruments for all of the city's hospitals after it failed an inspection. The closure led to more than 1000 operations being cancelled.

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There were also rises recorded at boards including NHS Grampian (32 to 40), NHS Lothian (97 to 107) and NHS Forth Valley (six to 12).

Boards including NHS Dumfries and Galloway (44 to 22) had a decrease in the number of cancellations due to lack of required equipment.

NHS Tayside (six to zero), NHS Lanarkshire (89 to 77) and NHS Western Isles (32 to 14) were also among the boards that recorded a fall.

Over the two-year period, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde had the highest number of cancellations (405), followed by NHS Lothian (204) and NHS Lanarkshire (166).

The board with the lowest number of cancellations since 2017-2018 was NHS Shetland (two), followed by NHS Tayside (six), and NHS Forth Valley (18).

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Scottish Labour health spokeswoman Monica Lennon, said the NHS is badly in need of a funding injection.

"Having an operation cancelled is distressing for people and should be a rare exception," she said.

"These figures confirm that more and more surgeries are being cancelled because our hospitals don't have the right equipment, and that is extremely worrying.

"The SNP's mismanagement of the NHS is letting people down and our hospitals are not coping.

"The NHS badly needs the massive injection of funding and support that a UK Labour Government would deliver.

"And, unlike the SNP, Scottish Labour will make health and social care services our priority and deliver real improvements for patients and staff."

A spokeswoman for NHSGGC said: "We do our best not to postpone any planned procedures but, as with every other board across Scotland, when we are experiencing a sustained high demand for emergency medical care we have, unfortunately, to reschedule non-urgent planned inpatient procedures.

"We make arrangements to re-book these patients as soon as possible at a date that suits them."