Vulnerable patients are waiting months to be released from hospital despite being medically fit to leave, NHS Scotland figures show.
Bed-blocking has seen six patients across Tayside and Fife languishing in wards for six months or more, according to a census taken in December.
One patient in Tayside was waiting in hospital for more than a year.
Scottish Conservative and Mid Scotland and Fife MSP Murdo Fraser said although the national picture on bed-blocking is improving it will be no consolation to those patients “stranded in hospital for such a ludicrous timeframe”.
He said given their complex needs a hospital ward “cannot possibly be the best place for them”.
“This shows just how poorly the SNP is performing on health and social care,” Mr Fraser said.
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said Code 9 cases are those where the reasons for delays are often “outwith the immediate control” of the NHS and councils.
She said these patients have “very complex needs” and most of the “Code 9 delays” are caused by needing to appoint a legal guardian because the individual does not have the capacity to make their own decisions.
“These patients can have very specialist needs and it may take a longer period of time to ensure the appropriate community support is available to allow them to be safely discharged from hospital,” she said.
There were five Code 9 delays in Tayside for December three stuck in hospital for six to eight months, one for nine to 11 months and one for more than year. One patient in Fife was waiting for six to eight months.
An NHS Tayside spokeswoman said cases are categorised as Code 9 when the circumstances mean discharge will take longer for reasons including needing to transfer them to a highly specialised facility with few spaces.