Jeane Freeman linked the fall in deaths to the Scottish patient safety programme

SNP ministers misled the public by claiming that a scheme to cut hospital deaths had saved almost 10,000 lives, the statistics watchdog has said.

Jeane Freeman, the health secretary, linked official figures, which showed the number of hospital deaths had fallen by 9,750 between 2014 and this year, to the Scottish patient safety programme.

The programme was launched in 2008 by the SNP to reduce hospital mortality rates. It has been hailed by Don Berwick, a former adviser to the Obama administration.

In a government press release issued last month after Information Services Division (ISD) Scotland published the statistics, Ms Freeman said: “Our world-leading Scottish patient safety programme continues to have a significant impact on the quality and safety of patient care, with these