MAINTENANCE staff at Inverclyde Royal say there is nothing more they can do to stop water pouring into the building.

Staff have called for major investment in the site or a new hospital as images and shocking video footage emerges showing the extent of the leaks at the IRH through ceilings.

In a letter to all hospital staff - seen by the Tele - the head of maintenance at the hospital has admitted there is nothing more he and his team can do to stem the water ingress.

He said: "For any staff not familiar with the historical rainwater ingress problems of IRH. "Local estates cannot deal with this long outstanding issue and continue to escalate.

"Only major investment in IRH...or a new IRH will resolve this."

Health board officials admit there are problems with the condition of the building and say every effort is being made to fix them.

But Labour's election candidate for Inverclyde, Martin McCluskey, says more must be done and has highlighted a £23m outstanding repairs bill.

He said: "Tens of millions of pounds of cuts are planned by the health board for the coming year, on top of cuts that have already been made.

"It's not more cuts we need, Inverclyde needs its fair share of funding. "We need the SNP government and the health board to step in urgently with the resources needed to repair Inverclyde Royal Hospital.

"The trade unions have been calling for years for the building to be re-clad to prevent this kind of water damage and flooding from occurring. "We need a building that is fit for patients and staff well into the future."

Tom Steele, director of estates and facilities at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, today hinted at further investment.

Mr Steele said: "We acknowledge there are infrastructure challenges at Inverclyde Royal Hospital and the hospital has already attracted over £20m of investment since 2013. "We recognise that further investment will be required.

"Earlier this month I commissioned a full re-survey of the hospital; this is part of a wider review of the board's estate. "This revised information will be used to target investment in those areas of the hospital on the basis of priority.

"In the meantime, we will explore all available options with our local estates team to deal with the immediate issue of water ingress to improve the current situation."