No pest threat says West Middlesex hospital

8:00am Friday 8th August 2008

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West Middlesex Hospital has issued a vigorous defence of its hygiene standards after a damning report earlier this week.

Details uncovered by the Conservative Party under the Freedom of Information Act revealed West Mid had brought in pest controllers at least 50 times during the two-year period.

The opposition party asked all 171 NHS trusts around the country to reveal the number of pest control visits between January 2006 and March 2008 and West Mid revealed this week it had 102 incidents regarding infestations between April 2007 and March 2008.

Across the country, hospitals reported rats in maternity wards, wasps in neonatal units and a store for sterile materials infested with mice, while their pests included bedbugs, cockroaches and fleas.

But West Mid denied having a major problem and insisted cleanliness and hygiene were high priorities.

A spokesman said: “We have a weekly visit by a pest control contractor who proactively monitors and acts upon any pest issues.

“We also have an call-out agreement for any issues that need reactive management.

“Between April 1, 2007, and March 31, 2008, there were 102 calls logged regarding pest control issues.

“These included sightings of squirrels and foxes within the hospital grounds, but not inside buildings, and a pigeon flying in the hospital’s atrium.

“In a number of cases, due to different people reporting the same problem, multiple calls are logged about the same incident.

“Some issues are seasonal, for example sightings of ants and wasps.

“We currently have no concerns of any serious pest infestations and there has been no threat to patient safety.

“West Middlesex Hospital has seen a continued fall in infection rates, and earlier this year carried out an extensive deep clean of all patient areas. As with any large open site, with such a huge volume of visitors, there will be small numbers of pest-related incidents and we continually maintain the highest levels of cleanliness and building maintenance to minimise this.”