“I’m glad money has been set aside, but what I will say is we’ve been here twice already,” she said.

“I’m glad this has been said, but I just hope there isn’t a policy change in the near future before the work begins.

“It’s a step forward though. I say excellent, but let’s just keep an eye on it and make sure there’s no slippage.”

She added: “I’m very happy that it has been recognized because it was built in the late 60s and at that time they had no idea of ​​the numbers they were going to try to manage.”

Ms Robison announced almost £200 million to reduce hospital waiting times and increase capacity, provide additional support for GPs and increase social spending, as well as funding more dental training places and a increased community support for adolescent mental health.

However, she said: “It’s not just the daily spending on resources that will increase. We are also increasing capital spending on health care.

“This means I can announce to the House today that this budget will fund the replacement of the Eye Pavilion in Edinburgh, Belford Hospital in Fort William and Monklands Hospital in Airdrie.”