More than 400 beds have been cut from Fife’s hospitals since 2007, it has been revealed.
The number of available beds in the region has fallen by 56 in the last year alone.
Fife MSP Alex Rowley has expressed concern about the numbers, as well as an increase in cancelled operations.
Thirty-nine procedures were cancelled because of capacity or non-clinical reasons in August, compared to just eight for the same month last year, a situation Mr Rowley branded unacceptable.
But NHS Fife has insisted the figures ignore significant changes made to models of care in the region.
A spokesperson said many thousands of patients are now treated in ambulatory, day care or outpatient settings with benefits including improved clinical outcomes for patients and their families.
He added that drawing a link between a reduction in inpatient beds and cancelled operations was “unhelpful”.
Mr Rowley said there were 5,000 fewer beds across Scotland and added: “This is not acceptable and can’t continue.
“We keep seeing hospital beds vanish from across Fife and yet no further resources have been delivered into social care.
“This means that people who need care and support aren’t receiving it.”
The Scottish Labour deputy leader added: “It is having a particular impact on our elderly who are suffering as a result of this.”
In response, the NHS Fife spokesperson said: “Advances in technology and medical science over the last few years mean we can now deliver a greater number of interventions and diagnostic tests outwith a hospital setting and to suggest NHS Fife is not delivering effective care based solely upon bed numbers does not consider the changes we continue to make to better serve the evolving needs of our communities, which are living longer and often with more complex health conditions.
“These changes must be reflected in the way we deliver care and our clinical strategy, which has just completed a series of public consultation events, is our plan for healthcare delivery over the next five years, in line with the Scottish Government’s National Clinical Strategy.”
The spokesman said a key element of the clinical strategy was continuing to move towards a model where care is delivered outwith hospitals where patients say they want it most – at home and in their communities.
