People will be "appropriately reimbursed" if they are having to pay for care they should be getting free on the NHS, the Health Secretary has pledged.

Alex Neil urged those who felt they had been wrongly turned down for a continuing healthcare package to contact him and he would ensure the situation was properly investigated.

He made the commitment after a 27% fall in the number of Scots receiving the help was reported.

Continuing healthcare should be available to people assessed as having a very high level of care needs – such as those who have suffered a severe stroke.

While people would benefit from free personal care, continuing healthcare would cover other care costs.

Mr Neil urged people with a "genuine grievance" to first contact the chief executive of their NHS board and then contact him if they were still unhappy with the outcome.

"The last thing I want to do as the Health Secretary is see people who are so seriously ill being denied the payment or the care they are entitled to," he said. "Where there is evidence, we will tackle that situation."

Mr Neil insisted: "If there is anyone, or anyone's carer or family, who feels they should have been receiving this payment and either haven't been told about it or aren't receiving it, please let us know because we will look at the case, case by case, and those who are entitled to it who haven't been getting it will be appropriately reimbursed."

Labour's health spokeswoman Jackie Baillie said: "It's concerning to hear that patients are finding it more difficult under the SNP to gain access to funding for continuing care.

"It would appear that for many vulnerable people, who require continuing medical care, the cost is being shunted from the NHS on to local government or directly on to families."

Liberal Democrat health spokesman Jim Hume called on ministers to "provide immediate clarity on continuing healthcare funding for people with intensive or complex nursing care needs". He said: "People need to know what they and their relatives are entitled to, how the funding package works and the process to access the funds.

"The Health Secretary must explain why the number of people being awarded funding for nursing care is decreasing when our population is living for longer and spending more years in ill health."