Pest controllers' 323 visits to East Lancashire hospitals

5:25pm Wednesday 6th August 2008

By Camilla Sutcliffe

EAST Lancashire hospital bosses have insisted there are ‘no problems with infestation’ despite calling out pest control 323 times in two years.

Across the country there were almost 20,000 incidents in hospitals, according to figures obtained by the Conservative Party under the Freedom of Information Act.

Conservatives said the figures, relating to rats, fleas, insects, bed bugs and and maggots, showed the the Labour government had failed on hospital cleanliness.

But bosses of the East Lancashire Hosptials NHS Trust said most of the callouts were routine monitoring visits and callouts to kill ants and other insects.

The trust runs Burnley General, the Royal Blackburn, Pendle Community and Rossendale General hospitals.

Stephen Brookfield, director of finance, information, planning and capital for the trust, said: “The trust does not currently have any problems with infestations of any kind, however as with any other big organisation, if there is an issue we immediately call in experts who can deal with the situation quickly and efficiently as the public would expect.

“Considering the size of the trust, covering four sites – some of which have older buildings which may require more pest control monitoring, this is a relatively low number as compared with some other NHS trusts.

“We take the health and safety of our hospital buildings very seriously and continue to remain vigilant to ensure the hospitals are clean and safe for patients, visitors and staff.”

The national figures showed that 80 per cent of trusts reported problems with ants, 66 per cent with rats and 77 per cent with mice.

Cockroaches were said to have been reported at 59 per cent of trusts, fleas or other biting insects at 65 per cent, and bed bugs at 24 per cent.

A further six per cent of trusts reported infestations of maggots. Many of the problems were said to have occurred in clinical areas.

Shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley said: “Labour have 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 trusts to ensure that hospitals were clean and safe for patients.

But he insisted that, so far, there was little evidence of any threat to patient safety.