Articles | Rats and maggots on hospital wards

Rats and maggots on hospital wards

Published: Wednesday, 6 August 2008, 8:55AM

Hospital hygiene is under the spotlight once again after shocking details of rats, maggots and fleas on the wards were revealed.

Almost 20,000 incidents of pest infestation have been reported by hospitals over the past two years.

Outbreaks have included rats in maternity wards, wasps and fleas in neo-natal units and maggots in patients' slippers.

The Government dismissed suggestions that the problems were linked to the spread of hospital-acquired infections like MRSA and insisted the threat to patient safety was "negligible".

The details - released under the Freedom of Information Act - were obtained by the Tories, who contacted all 171 NHS trusts in England.

Of the 127 which responded, almost all were said to have experienced some problems.

Shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley said: "Labour has said over and over again that they will improve cleanliness in our hospitals but these figures clearly show that they are failing.

"It is difficult for health service estates to maintain a completely pest-free environment but the level and variety of these infections is concerning.

"We need greater transparency in NHS infection control, and publishing data like this is one way in which we can drive up overall hygiene standards."

Health Minister Ivan Lewis said it was up to NHS Trusts to ensure that hospitals were clean and safe for patients but insisted that, so far, there was little evidence of any threat to patient safety.

"The use of pest control is seen as good, proactive management," he said.

"The Health Care Commission have confirmed that health concerns around pest control have, to date, been negligible.

"The claim that insects spread hospital-acquired infections is entirely unproven. There is no evidence of their carriage of antibiotic-resistant bacteria being a hazard to patients.

"Despite this, we expect hospitals to take continued action to tackle these pest problems."