Hospitals blighted by rats and cockroaches

Rats, mice, cockroaches, wasps and ants have blighted hospitals in Sandwell and Birmingham over the past five years, figures showed today.

Reports included cockroaches in catering areas, near patients waiting in A&E and rodents in a mortuary.

There were 954 sightings of pests at Sandwell Hospital, Rowley Regis Hospital and City Hospital between 2006 and last April.

Pest controllers dealt with 352 sightings at Sandwell Hospital alone - including 52 of cockroaches in catering areas.

More recent examples include rats near the staff smoking area and skip in January and cockroaches in reception in December.

A kitchen at the West Bromwich hospital had to be treated for cockroaches and a wasp nest was removed.

Rodents were discovered in a kitchen and mortuary and cockroaches were also spotted near A&E and the pharmacy last May. The hospital was also treated for rats and mice.

Meanwhile, pest controllers visited Rowley Regis Hospital on 39 occasions. Ants were found in the x-ray department and rodents near the mortuary door.

The details, released under the Freedom of Information Act, also revealed there were 565 cases at City Hospital in Birmingham, including ants in maternity and rodents in reception.

Pest controllers also removed an ants nest and tackled "crawling insects" in the neurophysiology and maternity departments.

Sarah Conlon, spokesman for Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs the hospitals, said: "Regular routine inspections of catering outlets and kitchens are undertaken to ensure nothing is undetected. The trust is confident we are able to deal with pests appropriately and is proactive in managing potential problems and taking all appropriate steps in the prevention of pests. There is no food safety issue in the trust."