Rats and cockroaches among pests plaguing NHS hospitals - see if yours is affected

Cash-strapped trusts are forced to shell out millions of pounds eradicating pests across crumbling NHS estate

(Getty)

A map has revealed the NHS hospitals worst affected by pests after figures showed more than 18,000 incidents have been reported over the last three years.

Rats, mice, cockroaches and bed bugs were among the thousands of pests found at NHS hospitals across England, with rodents discovered on maternity wards, wasps nests in imaging areas and ants “coming through the ceiling”.

In total there were 18,000 reports of pests at NHS hospitals over the past three years, according to data obtained under freedom of information laws.

One hospital said “black insects are biting the legs of staff”, that the “whole building has a fly infestation”, and animal noises were coming from inside the walls.

Maggots were also found in the mortuary at one hospital and rat droppings in a corpse bag at another, with the total cost of dealinng with pests across the NHS estate at an eyewatering £3m, according to the data, obtained by the Liberal Democrats.

But not all hospitals responded to the data requests, meaning the scale of the problem could be much bigger. One trust noted 156 incidents of pests, when in fact these were proactive weekly callouts over the last three years.

Our map below shows the NHS trusts worst affected by pest incidents:

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Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said: “These are shocking revelations and another sign our hospitals are no longer up to scratch for sick patients and hardworking 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.

File photo: Maggots were also found in the mortuary at one hospital and rat droppings in a corpse bag at another (Getty Images)

“This Conservative 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 and Social Care 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 £4.2 billion this financial year. This is on top of the expected £20 billion for the New Hospital Programme.

“We have also invested a further £1.7 billion for over 70 hospital upgrades across England alongside a range of nationally funded infrastructure improvements in mental health, urgent and emergency care and diagnostic capacity.”