Hospital kitchens closed as rodents found

TWO kitchenettes at Our Lady’s Hospital in Navan were issued with closure orders after a dead rodent was found.

It was one of the nine food businesses handed closure orders last month by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland.

The kitchenette at the hospital’s Medical Assessment Unit was closed for three days after a ‘small rodent’ was found dead.

Rodent droppings were also found behind the kitchen equipment, and pest proofing of external drains was found to be inadequate.

Rodent activity also lead to the closure of the kitchenette in the Female Medical Unit for three days, after a mouse was caught.

A statement from the Co. Meath hospital said that funding has been made available to complete drainage works and other proofing works, and that the hospital immediately implemented its environmental safety protocol following the discovery, to ensure that no patients were placed at risk.

The Indian’s Taste Takeaway in Dublin 1 was issued a closure order for five days after evidence of a rodent infestation was found, as well as mouse droppings in the kitchen and dry goods store.

A ‘serious accumulation of refuse’ was also found, causing an unpleasant smell. There was no one available for comment at Indian’s Taste Takeaway yesterday.

Meanwhile, The Quays Restaurant in Temple Bar, Dublin, was closed for eight days after both live and dead cockroaches were discovered. One prohibition order was also handed down by the FSAI last month. There was no one available to comment yesterday.

Chief executive of the FSAI Dr Pamela Byrne said pests and insects pose a ‘grave risk’ to human health, and that there is ‘no excuse for bad practice’ by food businesses.

‘Our inspectors are finding recurring incidents of filthy premises and rodent infestations,’ she said. ‘Implementing a pest-control system is a basic requirement.’