Ailsa Hospital
© Google Street ViewAilsa Hospital in Ayr has been placed on lockdown following a stabbing in its grounds.
A hospital in North Ayrshire is on lockdown after a nurse was stabbed in its grounds.

Police Scotland said it was searching for an attacker who knifed the woman outside Ailsa hospital, on the outskirts of Ayr, at about 10.05am on Thursday.

The victim is being treated in hospital but her condition is not yet known.

NHS Ayrshire and Arran said the building was "on full lockdown" as a police helicopter and officers search the area.

The health board said "no members of staff, patients or visitors will be able to leave the site until advised".

The nurse's injuries are not believed to be life-threatening, according to Scotland's first minister Nicola Sturgeon.

Speaking in Scottish parliament, she said: "I was receiving reports about this incident just as I came into the chamber.

"Our understanding is that injuries sustained by a nurse are not life-threatening injuries and that police are fully involved in this incident.

"Obviously, the safety of staff an patients is of the utmost importance."

A Police Scotland spokeswoman said: "At around 10.05am on Thursday, police received a report that a woman had been attacked in the grounds of Ailsa Hospital on Dalmenington Road in Ayr.

"Emergency services are in attendance and the woman has been taken to hospital.

"Local officers, supported by a police helicopter, are carrying out a search of the area. Enquiries are ongoing."

Billy McClean, associate director for NHS Ayrshire and Arran, added: "We are assisting Police Scotland with their investigations, and to ensure the safety of staff, patients and visitors.

"We are unable to comment any further at this time."

Ailsa hospital is a small facility providing inpatient and outpatient services, specialising in mental health, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, and rehabilitative care.