English NHS hospital sites ‘assaulted’ by vermin

A BBC News story said party researchers asked every English NHS hospital (171 in all) to reveal how often pest controllers had visited their sites between January 2006 and March 2008. Seventy per cent had brought them in at least 50 times, while the period saw nearly 20,000 pest infestations or suspected infestations.

Of the 127 Trusts replying, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust reportedly topped the table, with over 1,000 incidents, while five others – Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust, Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, and Barts and the London NHS Trust – passed the 800 mark.

Among incidents reported overall had been: maggots in a patient’s slippers, fleas and wasps in a neo-natal unit, sterile stores infested with mice, mouse droppings in a clinic, and a wasp’s nest in an A&E department. A children’s A&E unit had been “infested with flies”, while main wards were reportedly home to mice, silverfish, “biting insects” and beetles. A Conservative Party press statement said 80% of Trusts had had problems with ants, 66% with rats, 77% with mice, 59% with cockroaches, 65% with biting insects or fleas, 24% with bed bugs, and 6% with maggots.

Andrew Lansley, Shadow Health Secretary (pictured), said: “Labour has said repeatedly they will improve cleanliness in our hospitals, but these figures clearly show they are failing. It is difficult for health service estates to maintain a completely pestfree environment, but the level and variety of these infestations is concerning.” Health Minister Ivan Lewis responded: “Hospitals must be responsible for ensuring their buildings are clean, and that patient safety is not compromised. The Hygiene Code requires NHS bodies to have a pest control policy that anticipates and manages the issue.”

Despite the data, the Minister said the Healthcare Commission had confirmed that, to date, health concerns around pest control had been “negligible”. The Commission will be inspecting every hospital Trust this year and “checking whether they are doing everything they can to maintain levels of cleanliness and hygiene”.