Rat, gnat and gull plague at acute hospital

PEST controllers have had to be called to one of the country’s main hospitals to deal with live and dead rats and other infestation issues, it has emerged.

One firm that deals with rodent problems went to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda more than 30 times last year.

Inspection reports from Ecolab show a number of alarming discoveries, including rodent droppings

Company was called out 10 times last year

in a toddlers’ unit, sewer gnats in intensive care, mice in a sluice room, a rat in the corridor of another unit, and insect activity in the cardiac unit.

The Galway pest-control firm responded to 10 call-outs from the hospital last year and held 20 routine inspections.

Its reports reveal that a specialist went to the hospital on January 29, after suspected rodent droppings were found in a press at a High Dependency Unit for small children. Bait was used to deal with the problem.

The firm was called several times to deal with rodent problems throughout the year.

In June, it had to remove a dead rat from the compressor room. A live rat was spotted by a staff member near the compactor area in August.

Snap traps were placed in the Medical Assessment Unit in December after a rodent was spotted in the corridor, while live mice were ‘seen and caught and removed’ from a third-floor sluice room in October.

Sewer gnats or filter flies, were found in three rooms of the Intensive Care Unit in July.

Reported insect activity also led to call-outs to the Coronary Care Unit in March, and to the X-ray staff room in November.

The hospital has also had problems with seagulls and has had to put up netting to protect patients and staff from them.

Between 2009 and 2014, the hospital spent €37,422 on pest control measures. Last year’s figures were not available.

A spokesman for the hospital acknowledged a request for comment but made none.