Hospitals reveal 20,000 incidents of pest infestation » Health » 24dash.com

Almost 20,000 incidents of pest infestation have broken out at hospitals over the past two years, it was revealed today.

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

But the Government dismissed suggestions that the problems were linked to 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 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."

There were almost 20,000 reports of pest problems, while seven out of 10 trusts said they had called in pest control officers more than 50 times since January 2006.

The figures showed that 80% of NHS Trusts reported problems with ants, 66% with rats and 77% with mice.

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

A further 6% of trusts reported infestations of maggots. Many of the problems were said to have occurred in clinical areas.

Vanessa Bourne, from The Patients Association, said: "Such findings are truly revolting. How can patients be safe amid bed bugs, fleas and rats?

"Once again safety is just rhetoric and not a reality for patients, particularly the elderly and those with suppressed immunity.

"What about those trusts who ignored this Freedom of Information request and said nothing? If these are the standards of those 'coming clean', what does it say about those who stayed silent?

"These findings reveal what happens when money is taken away from where patients expect to see it spent. If these hospitals were restaurants they would be closed down and out of business. Trust Boards must get a grip and show patients they are serious about their legal responsibility for safety."

Health Minister Ivan Lewis said it was up to NHS 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.

"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."

Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust had the highest number of pest incidents between January 2006 and April 2008.

The hospital recorded 1,070 incidents, including problems with rats, mice, cockroaches, ants, biting insects, fleas, wasps, squirrels, pigeons and foxes.

John Simpson, director of estates and facilities management at Nottingham University Hospitals, said: "These figures must be put into context. It goes without saying that, as the fourth largest Trust in the country, our hospitals are bigger than most others around the country and therefore our figures should be compared with Trusts with similar-sized estates rather than smaller acute trusts.

"It is also worth bearing in mind that Trusts are likely to have recorded and reported figures differently and therefore the table may not be comparing like-for-like data.

"At Nottingham University Hospitals we have two pest control teams operating at our two hospitals; an in-house qualified pest control team at City Hospital campus and a contracted service at Queen's Medical Centre campus.

"Both teams advise how we can best manage pest prevention and control and ensure the Trust is meeting the required environmental health standards."

Christine Braithwaite, head of the healthcare associated infection programme at the Healthcare Commission, said: "Cleanliness and hygiene are issues of critical importance to patients and the public.

"We receive a wide range of information on hygiene from different sources.

"However, concerns around pest control have, to date, been negligible.

"Clearly, it may be necessary to take action against pests in these large public buildings from time to time.

"However, it is important for hospital trusts to have robust procedures in place to deal with any pest problems and, if they persist, trusts should question whether they have the right systems in place.

"We are inspecting every hospital trust this year and checking whether they are doing everything they can to maintain levels of cleanliness and hygiene. Trusts are required to have policies in place to manage pest control.

"If we were concerned that the safety of patients was at risk, through poor hygiene standards or in any other way, we would take immediate action."

Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust, which came third in the survey, said the number of incidents was a reflection on how seriously staff take problems.

"Common calls in Portsmouth are to deal with ants or, being a coastal city, dead seagulls or pigeons in the grounds," a spokeswoman said.

"The number of calls logged reflects the proactive approach adopted by the Trust as successful pest control relies on early identification of potential problems.

"The number of helpdesk calls is not a reflection on cleanliness in our hospitals, more a recognition that we do not procrastinate with our response."

Malcolm Padley, a spokesman for Rentokil, which provides pest control for hospitals nationwide, said: "Pests are attracted to most buildings whether they are in the private or public sector. You are likely to see pests at some point in some form or another.

"There is a problem with large buildings, like hospitals, in particular and many buildings with a lot of grounds are also attacked.

"We have definitely seen an increase in the number of call-outs about bed bugs and rodents nationally. A lot of people could be going into hospitals with bed bugs on their clothing.

"It is hard to tell whether there has been an increase in the number of pests or whether there is better awareness and greater reporting of pest control issues.

"We are putting into place a number of new technologies to help our customers in terms of protection and prevention.

"Hospitals require a more rapid response to the problem as it is of great importance to them to maintain a clean and healthy environment."

The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) called today for a single Government department to take responsibility for supervising and monitoring pest control.

Chief executive Graham Jukes said: "A single Government department must have the ultimate responsibility for supervising monitoring programmes and implementing pest management measures.

"In the UK, control of our most significant pests is loosening when it should be tightening.

"Far from being relics of the past, incidence of pest-borne disease is a public health issue and the risk will grow in the absence of action."

He added: "We do not know in this instance whether these figures released today indicate that the numbers of pests are rising, remain static or have in fact fallen because there is a lack of reliable and historic data to assess the risks from potential threats - this research is crucial and necessary."

Responsibility for pest control is currently spread across different Government departments and agencies.

The Healthcare Commission has responsibility to assess risks in hospitals, and local authority environmental health departments only hold responsibility for inspecting hospital kitchens and ensuring they comply with food legislation relating to pests.

The CIEH is calling on the Government to assess the potential threats posed by pest-related illnesses as modern living conditions and recently contributed to a World Health Organisation book called The Public Health Significance Of Urban Pests.