Nicola Sturgeon faced questions over the outbreak of infection at Queen Elizabeth University hospital at First Minister's Questions. 

Both Jackson Carlaw and his Labour counterpart Richard Leonard questioned the First Minister on the outbreak of Cryptococcus - an infection linked to pigeon droppings - that contributed to the death of a child at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow.

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The hospital, which was the largest in Europe when it opened in 2015, was a flagship project for the Scottish Government.

Earlier this week, Health Secretary Jeane Freeman confirmed the infection had contributed to the death of a child being treated there, and was also present in another patient, although it did not contribute to their death.

Mr Carlaw said: "This alarming story has also raised wider questions about the government's record on the NHS, because there is a £900 million maintenance backlog on NHS buildings, including hospitals in Scotland.

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"So, is it any wonder then that we do see problems emerging, not just at the Queen Elizabeth but at other hospitals across Scotland?" 

Ms Sturgeon stressed the infection was a "very serious incident that must be and is being treated seriously".

She pledged "all appropriate steps will be taken", with a review into the design, construction and maintenance of the hospital already having been announced.

The First Minister continued: "At any given time there will be maintenance requirements in the health service estate, the Scottish Government works closely with health boards through our capital allocations to health boards to make sure we're providing, as far as we can within the resources available to us, capital provision to do that."

She added: "I'm not going to go into party political exchanges on this issue, it is too serious for that. But obviously we work within a financial envelope and I think everybody knows that that has been under pressure in recent years, and everybody knows the reasons for that.

"But within that we have prioritised spending on the health service and we will continue to do so."