The full extent of a mounting hospital repair backlog at Crosshouse is now more than £31million as staff at the hospital continue to fight the coronavirus.

Figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act revealed that the total repair backlog for University Crosshouse Hospital now stands at £31,429,366.20 and counting.

Some £4 million of these costs are part of the requirement to make the hospital legally safe.

Neil Bibby MSP said: “The total repair bill at Crosshouse is getting bigger by the day.

“This £31 million figure makes it abundantly clear that we are not getting the investment we need in the NHS. NHS staff have been going above and beyond, before and during the COVID crisis.

“It’s important that the people we depend on to care for us have a safe, modern working environment.

“It doesn’t matter if they’re working in a big, new city hospital or at Crosshouse, every part of the country should be getting the investment it needs.”

Nicola Graham, Director of Infrastructure and Support Services said: “NHS Ayrshire & Arran is committed to maintaining all our properties in order to provide a safe and secure environment for patients, visitors and staff.

“This is achieved through an on-going programme of planned maintenance and capital investment to ensure that all our buildings are kept up to standard.

“We continue to invest in backlog maintenance to ensure University Hospital Crosshouse operates effectively, efficiently and safely. Our well-established prioritised five year backlog maintenance plan is developed to allocate and focus investment to relevant risk assessed schemes with particular emphasis on high risk items.”

She added: “This robust review process will continue to play a key role in the on-going development and future investment within our estate.”