From January 2006 to March 2008, almost 20,000 incidents of infestations were reported by the National Health System. They included sightings of rats, mice, fleas, bedbugs, ants and cockroaches.
To deal with the frequent pest attacks, 70 percent of the government hospitals called pest controllers at least 50 times during the past 26 months.
The most celebrated case was at the Maidstone and Turnbridge Wells Hospital Trust, where over 300 patient deaths were linked to Clostridium difficile and 50 pest incidents were reported during the past two years. A hospital spokesman attributed the huge number of pests to old buildings, which have already been demolished.
The Patients Association called the situation was revolting. British Health Minister Ivan Lewis said government hospitals must take immediate action and follow through to avoid reports of pests. He emphasized that claims insects have spread infections acquired from the hospitals were unfounded.
"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 pest problems," Lewis said.
