Hospital's spend £3million on pest control as patients suffer from rats and insects 

EMBARGO: Immediate Release 

• Staff report being bitten by bugs as rats roam maternity and emergency wards 
• Freedom of Information requests reveal NHS Hospitals coping with 18,000 pest incidents since 2021
• Liberal Democrat Leader demands urgent repair fund for crumbling hospitals

Freedom of Information Requests by the Liberal Democrats have revealed the extent of pests roaming NHS Hospitals. As the NHS repair backlog reaches record levels, these new revelations show staff and patients subjected to poor conditions. 

Since 2021, over 60 NHS Trusts have reported £3.7 million spent on pest control at their hospitals. Imperial College NHS Trust, which includes St.Mary’s Hospital London, spent a staggering £383,597 on pest control, including dealing with 748 pest incidents last year alone. 

East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust spent £119,199 to deal with mice in the kitchen, maggots in the mortuary and rat droppings in a corpse bag, amongst many other pests. 

The most shocking incidents were reported by East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Trust, which includes Colchester Hospital and Ipswich Hospital. Staff reported:

• Black insects are biting the legs of staff
• Ants and fly infestations
• Rats in the ambulance area 

At Ashford NHS Trust, dead headless pigeons and dead rabbits, as well as slug and ants were reported. Royal United Hospitals Bath reported pests in the children’s ward and breast clinic. 

Princess Alexandra Trust, which forked out over £270,000 on pest control since 2021, reported pests found in children's ward, staff accommodation, breast clinic and various wards. Other pests at NHS Hospitals include bed bugs in wards, human lice, cockroaches, silverfish and wasps.

Overall, there has been a rise in pests reported at hospitals, from 5,292 in 2021/2022 to 6,666 2023/2024.

The Liberal Democrats are demanding an urgent fund to improve hospital safety, after recent figures showed the NHS repair fund is now a record £12bn. A Freedom of Information investigation by the party last year revealed hundreds of sewage leaks pouring into hospital wards, showing again how the NHS is struggling to cope with rising repair bills.

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

“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. Conservative Ministers can not hide any longer from the state of the NHS.”

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS:

First reported in the Guardian here. 

List of full data from Freedom of Information Request to NHS Trusts

Hospitals ‘falling to bits’ as NHS in England faces record £12bn repair bill - Guardian

Liberal Democrat investigation into sewage in hospitals - BBC