Ayrshire's Crosshouse Hospital has been hit with five sewage leaks since the beginning of 2019, according to a Freedom Of Information (FOI) Request from the Scottish Lib Dems.

The FOI found that there had been almost 200 sewage leaks in Scottish hospitals within the past four years, affecting half of the country’s health boards.

The party, which obtained the figures through the FOI, found that all of Ayrshire's five leaks occurred at the University Hospital Crosshouse.

Lanarkshire had the most issues, with 137 reported leaks in this time.

Willie Rennie, the Lib Dems’ communities spokesman, said it would be “worrying news for patients across Scotland".

In all, seven health boards have recorded at least one sewage leak in hospitals.

Mr Renni added: “I hope that health boards will be able to offer assurances that these issues have been addressed and will not happen again.”

The findings come after the Scottish Liberal Democrats asked all 14 health boards north of the border to detail “whether any hospitals in your area reported leaks which have resulted in sewage coming into the hospital”, including through ceilings and walls.

A spokesperson from NHS Ayrshire & Arran said: "Processes are in place to allow wards and departments to report issues related to existing drainage as and when they are identified. 

"Each reported incident was resolved quickly as part of a coordinated response without patient care being affected.

"Information has been shared within the organisation to highlight the appropriate disposal of single use items such as paper towels and hand hygiene wipes to ensure the waste water cycle runs smoothly to external drains to help prevent future blockages and avoid potential disruption to services."

A Scottish Government spokesman added: “We are fully supportive of the need to properly maintain and invest in our existing estate and are doubling annual funding for maintenance.

“We will invest over £1 billion in enhancing or refurbishing existing health facilities, and updating and modernising medical equipment essential for delivering high quality medical services.”