Finance Secretary Derek Mackay visited the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow yesterday to highlight an overall increase in Scottish health funding in his 2018/19 spending plans.

However, hidden in the small print of Thursday’s Budget was the fact that NHS capital expenditure was cut from £408million last year to £336million this year – a real terms drop of almost 18 per cent.

The 2016/17 capital expenditure limit was £537million, meaning that £330million has been cut from the health service’s buildings budget in the space of just two years.

This would have been enough to pay for the new £270million Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary, with the remainder helping tackle the repairs logjam.

In July, the annual NHS property survey put the maintenance backlog at £887million, with 4 per cent of the estate “unsatisfactory and requiring major investment or replacement”.

A further 26 per cent is in need of investment to improve its condition.

Tory shadow health secretary Miles Briggs MSP said: “The backlog of repairs has been widely publicised, and we need to take urgent action to fix the problems that are emerging.

"Yet despite this the SNP have chosen to slash over £70million from the NHS capital budget.

“It’s a reckless move, and one that will mean that many health facilities will start falling into an even worse state of repair.”

Despite the cut, the NHS resource budget – to pay for wages, medicines and other running costs – has increased by more than £200million to take the overall total to £13.4billion in real terms.

Mr Mackay said: “This will ensure continued investment in facilities and services, funding a new GP contract and increased investment in mental health, while also supporting reforms such as major trauma centres.”