Rats and maggots among 18,000 NHS pest problems
RATS in maternity wards, wasps’ nests in imaging areas and ants coming through the ceiling are among the shocking pest problems hitting the NHS – costing £3million to fix.
Cockroaches on wards, maggots in a mortuary, and rodents in a kitchen have also been reported by hospitals in England over the past three years.
One hospital said “black insects are biting the legs of staff”, and the “whole building has a fly infestation”.
Another institution found rat droppings in a body bag, while a further site discovered a headless pigeon.
More than 18,000 pest problems were reported across NHS hospitals in England over the past three years, according to data obtained under freedom of information requests by the Liberal Democrats.
And the bill for dealing with the problems was more than £3million, the party found.
But not all hospitals responded to the data requests, meaning the scale of the problem could be much bigger.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said: “These are shocking revelations and another sign our hospitals are no longer up to scratch for sick patients and hard-working staff. In people’s hour of need, they need to be safe from bugs and rodents. Instead, wards are falling apart at the seams, with foul pests allowed to roam freely. This is a national scandal.
“Conservative ministers must act now by bringing forward emergency funds for crumbling and unhygienic hospitals.
“This Government has left the NHS in decay, with soaring repair bills.
“This madness has to end. It is time the NHS
was put first, starting with making hospitals a safe and clean place again.”
A Department of Health spokesman said: “Individual NHS organisations are legally responsible for maintaining their estates, including pest control.
“Patient safety is vital, and the Government has invested significant sums to upgrade and modernise NHS buildings so staff have the facilities needed to provide world-class care for patients, including £4.2billion this financial year. This is on top of the expected £20billion for the New Hospital Programme.
“We have also invested £1.7billion for over 70 hospital upgrades across England alongside a range of nationally funded infrastructure improvements.”