Scotland's hospital mortality rate has fallen by more than 10% since 2014, according to the latest official figures.

The Scottish Government said the drop in the statistics equates to 7800 fewer deaths than expected in the country's hospitals.

Ministers hailed the achievement as meeting a key patient safety aim 15 months earlier than targeted.

The newly-released statistics track hospital mortality rates in Scotland between January to March 2014 and July to September 2017.

They show that in that time period the overall figure fell by 10.6%, with 13 out of 29 hospitals reporting a drop of 10% or more.

Three hospitals - Crosshouse Hospital in Kilmarnock, the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh and Wishaw General Hospital - all reported a significantly lower mortality rate than the national average.

However, Belford Hospital in Fort William recorded a significantly higher figure than the Scottish average during the same period.

Health secretary Shona Robison said the overall drop showed Scotland was "leading the way" on patient safety.

The fall has been attributed to the Scottish Patient Safety Programme, which was put in place in 2008 and was the first programme of its kind anywhere in the world.

Between October to December 2007 and October to December 2015, hospital mortality fell by 16.5%, equating to 20,000 fewer deaths than expected.

After that, a revised target was introduced to reduce hospital mortality by a further 10% by the end of 2018.

Robison said: "Thanks to a decade of hard work by the Scottish Patient Safety Programme, we've met this key aim over a year earlier than planned.

"But most importantly, it means more lives have been saved that may otherwise have been lost."

The health secretary added: "This comes at a time when our NHS is treating more people, with more complex needs.

"While we want to go further, it shows that we continue to lead the way on patient safety, with other countries looking to learn from our approach."

Professor Jason Leitch, national clinical director for NHS Scotland, said: "These figures show the unprecedented success of the Scottish Patient Safety Programme - now in its tenth year of operation.

"I want to thank the thousands of staff across the country who have delivered that with professionalism, dedication and commitment.

"These figures are just the tip of the iceberg, representing reductions in infections, falls, and many other harms."