HOSPITAL chiefs have defended their record after new figures revealed hundreds of instances of pest infestations at Salford Royal Hospital in a two year period.
Figures released by the Conservative Party under Freedom of Information laws showed that pest control teams were called to the hospital, in Stott Lane, 240 times between January 2006 and April 2008.
The report shows a range of infestations, from rats and mice and cockroaches to squirrels, pigeons and bedbugs.
Pest controllers were also called out to tackle ants, fleas, wasps and maggots.
Nationally, there were nearly 20,000 pest infestations or suspected infestations over the same period, with one Trust reporting more than 1,000 pest incidents.
Salford Royal was included in the 70 per cent of NHS Trusts that had to call in pest controllers 50 or more times between January 2006 and March 2008 - more than twice a month.
Leader of the Conservative opposition in Salford, Councillor Karen Garrido, said: "It is really worrying that our biggest hospital has so many problems.
"Labour have said for years that they want to clean up our hospitals and I think they have had ample chance to do that.
"What they need to do now is act on these promises and sort out Salford Royal."
Research also shows the type of insects found can carry infections, and can be dangerous to the health of patients in the hospital.
A governor of the hospital, Valerie Ivison, said: "I am shocked by these figures and am absolutely amazed by the levels of infestations. I had thought that the hospital had been doing really well in the fight against MRSA and C.Difficile, and I will be trying to find out more about what we are doing to combat this."
A spokesperson for the hospital trust said: "Salford Royal takes a proactive stance to dealing with pest control. It has an established contract based on preventative and reactive measures.
"Out of the 240 occasions when the pest control team visited the Trust during the 27 months in question, 100 of these visits were for proactive preventative measures. The remaining 140 call outs were to deal with pest sitings.
"Salford Royal is a large and busy site which currently is undergoing a £200m redevelopment. The Trust wishes to reassure the public that it takes the matter of pest control very seriously and encourages its staff to report pest sitings. This, combined with its proactive contract, means that any pest problems can be dealt with immediately."
The mother of a young boy who attended the hospital slammed the figures as ‘unsurprising’ and claimed she would not go back to Salford Royal's emergency department.
Kirsty Goodier took her son Nathan to the hospital in January after he suffered severe breathing difficulties, but says she was 'disgusted‘ by the levels of cleanliness at the hospital.
She said: "After my experience, the only way I'd go anywhere near the emergency department is if they carried me off in an ambulance.
"I'm not at all surprised by these figures but they are still absolutely horrendous. Nobody wants these infestations in a hospital.
"If they spent the money that they spend calling out these pest control people on a regular deep clean, this would just not happen at that kind of level.
"It is an old building and I know they are making inroads in trying to sort it out, but they have a lot of work to do."
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Dennis the Menace, Hyde (10/08/2008 at 01:43)
The Health Trusts are calling out the Pest Control officers more frequently in order to work at reducing infestations ...... which will result in better conditions etc etc ..... BUT .... the way the Press chooses to report this makes it seem that all Hospital sites are overun with vermin !!!!