Health boards have been criticised for spending more than £12.5 million on taxis over the last four years.

The cabs were used for ferrying patients and staff around and were also used for moving medical equipment and medical records between 2011 and this year.

The highest spender was NHS Lothian, which has paid £3.3m on the arrangements during that period, according to information provided under Freedom of Information.

Ayrshire and Arran Health Board also spent more than £1.8m over the same period.

Greater Glasgow and Clyde and Lanarkshire health boards confirmed they had spent £1.7m each on taxis, while Tayside paid £1.1m for the service.

Western Isles spent more than £37,000 on taxis and Orkney spent over £16,000 on taxis. However, Borders, spent the least of the health boards who responded to the inquiry - running up a bill of only £2,500.

Dumfries and Galloway, Grampian and Highland health boards declined to provide figures.

Conservative Party health spokesman Jackson Carlaw said: "I have no doubt that there will be a hugely varied range of appropriate and urgent list of occasions when a taxi will have proved the best option but I'm pretty certain that there will be other examples that are less justified.

Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokesman Jim Hume said: "We need to ensure that health boards are doing what they can to keep costs down as much as possible."

Liz Moore, director for Acute Services at Ayrshire and Arran the taxis were used to benefit of patients when other forms of transport were unavailable. She added they were generally used as an out of hours service

She added: "The majority of taxi journeys are used for the transportation of patients, staff and laboratory samples. We are committed to ensuring that all other forms of low cost transport are fully investigated before the use of taxis is approved."