Patients in the Borders and Dumfriesshire could be denied treatment over the Border should Scotland break away from the UK, local MP David Mundell has warned.
Tens of thousands of Scottish patients have been sent to England for treatment over the last decade, figures obtained by the Scottish Conservatives have shown.
Since 2000, 88,779 people in Scotland have been sent south of the border for care, with the figure gradually rising in recent years.
The research has shown how thousands every year would be denied this service should Scotland separate from the rest of the United Kingdom.
And on Sunday it emerged cross-border care would become mired in red tape should Scotland break away from the UK, meaning it would be no easier to seek treatment in England than any other EU country.
Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale MP David Mundell said: “This again shows on a practical and very important level how people in Scotland are far better off remaining in the UK.
“Here we have tens of thousands of patients who have received sometimes lifesaving and crucial care in England.
“That simply would not be possible in an independent Scotland, nor would the many English patients who benefit from Scottish hospitals be able to continue this arrangement.
“In recent weeks the SNP has proved it cannot be trusted to look after the NHS, and if it has its way, it will strip away another vital option for thousands of patients.”